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WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY: 



A COMPANION 



WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK 



COMPRISING 

l&emarlts, Critical, ISipIanatorg, antr Cauttonarg, 

DESIGNED TO PROMOTE THE MORE PROFITABLE 
USE OF THE VOLUME. 



WILLIAM PENINGTON BURGESS, 

WESLEYAN MINISTER. 



SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED, 



LONDON: 
JOHN SNOW, PATERNOSTER ROW, 



1846. 



J? A it 



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PREFACE. 



Feom a very early age, the writer of these 
pages has been familiar with the Wesleyan 
Hymn Book : and as soon as he was capable 
of discriminating between such poetical com- 
positions as are truly excellent and worthy 
of admiration, and such as are of an inferior 
order and more fit to be consigned to oblivion, 
he began to entertain a high opinion of the 
work. He has now been employed as a 
minister of the church of Christ for upwards 
of thirty years ; and during this period, 
while conducting the public services of the 
sanctuary, or the devotional exercises of 
smaller and more select companies, he has 
had abundant opportunities to avail himself 
of the admirable specimens of sacred poetry 
published by the venerated founder of Me- 
thodism. In common with his honoured 



IV PREFACE. 

brethren in the ministry, and with the flocks 
among which they have been called to labour 
in the word and doctrine, he has often been 
instructed and admonished, reproved and 
stimulated, comforted and animated, while 
singing these songs of Zion. Many a time 
has he been impressed with the idea, that 
nothing on earth bears a greater resemblance 
to heaven, than a number of Christians 
uniting, with the spirit and with the under- 
standing, to sing the praises of their God and 
Saviour. Often has it appeared to him, as 
well as to his fellow- worshippers, as though 
heaven were indeed opened upon earth, and 
glory begun below. 

While folly convinced, however, of the 
superior value and excellence of the Wes- 
ley an Hymns, the writer ha,s long thought 
that something might yet be done to make 
them more useful, more conducive to general 
edification. There are interesting circum- 
stances connected with the original compo- 
sition of many of these hymns, which ought 
to be more extensively known than they have 
hitherto been. There are beauties of senti- 
ment and beauties of diction, which have 



PREFACE. V 

been overlooked, probably, by the great mass 
of readers ; but which, if pointed out, will be 
relished and admired by all persons of correct 
judgment and good taste. There are in some 
passages references to historical records, which 
greatly need explanation. As one proof of this 
may be mentioned verse 2 of that beautiful and 
sublime composition, Hymn 552 ; which per- 
haps is not understood by one in a thousand 
of those who use it. There are many passages 
which require to be qualified and guarded ; 
many expressions which, if not so qualified 
and guarded, may be grossly misunderstood, 
and may lead to highly pernicious sentiments. 
Truth and error sometimes lie in close con- 
tiguity ; and if that which is substantially 
correct and true be expressed in the strong and 
glowing language of poetry — such poetry, espe- 
cially, as that of Charles Wesley — it may bear 
a very great resemblance to that which is 
inaccurate and false. Moreover, many hymns 
and passages of hymns, which may be very 
advantageously read in the closet, or in seasons 
of retirement and solitude, are wholly unfit for 
public worship ; and if introduced into large 
and promiscuous assemblies, will be likely to 
a 2 



VI PREFACE. 

do more harm than good. Perhaps it would 
not be hazarding much to assert, that the 
better any collection of hymns is, both as to 
sentiment and as to language, the more need is 
there that it should be accompanied by expla- 
nations, advices, and cautions. For if that 
which is truly excellent once become an aux- 
iliary to error, its very excellence will make it 
the more extensively and the more permanently 
injurious. : 

It never was the author's intention to pre- 
pare a regular and complete comment on the 
whole Hymn Book. This undoubtedly might 
be done ; and it would possibly be less difficult 
to write critical and explanatory observations 
on every individual hymn, than to compress 
what is really necessary to be said, so as to 
include it all within a small volume. A large 
volume, containing remarks on every hymn, 
would necessarily involve much unprofitable 
repetition ; since in many cases, the remarks 
appended to one hymn, would be equally appli- 
cable to many others. Such a volume would 
be unsuitable to the great body of those who 
use the Wesleyan collection ; and its price 
would place it beyond their reach. 



PREFACE. VU 

The present work, it is hoped, will supply, 
in some degree, the deficiency that has hitherto 
existed. It may teach the Wesley an congrega- 
tions to appreciate more justly that treasure 
which has been transmitted to them by their 
predecessors ; and to use it in a way more con- 
ducive to their individual benefit, and more 
calculated to promote the spread of pure and 
primitive Christianity throughout our own 
country and throughout the whole world. 

The Wesleyan hymns stand very high in 
the writer's estimation, not only on account of 
their superior character, as poetical compositions, 
but because he considers them as illustrating, 
recommending, and guarding the religion of the 
New Testament ; that experimental and prac- 
tical piety, which alone can make us truly 
happy, either in this life or in that which is to 
come. Sacred poetry, in which we have noble 
ideas, clothed in elegant and dignified language, 
and in which the all-important truths of our 
holy religion are correctly and impressively 
exhibited, can scarcely be valued too highly or 
perused too frequently. 

With the most cordial affection towards all 
who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, 



Vlll PREFACE. 

and with hopes of meeting them all in the 
regions of heavenly bliss, and of uniting with 
them to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb 
around the throne of God, for ever and ever, 
the author bids adieu to his readers, and sub- 
scribes himself their servant for Christ's sake, 

WILLIAM P. BURGESS. 

Cheltenham, January 31, 1845. 



In preparing a second edition of this work for 
the press, the author has availed himself of 
some additional information, recently obtained, 
relative to the authorship of a few of the hymns ; 
and has thus been enabled to make his classified 
table more correct. He has also introduced 
some alterations and additions ; which, he 
trusts, will be acceptable and useful. An 
Appendix is subjoined, containing a vindication 
of the Hymnology from the censures thrown 
upon it in a number of the Wesleyan Methodist 
Magazine. The whole is once more com- 
mended to the candour of the Christian public, 
and to the blessing of Almighty God. 

Cheltenham, February 7, 1846. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Divine Providence displayed in the Rise and Progress of 
Methodism — John Wesley — John Fletcher — Charles Wes- 
ley — Feculiar Calling of the latter, as the Bard of 
Methodism — Testimonies to the Excellence of his Sacred 
Poetry from James Montgomery, Rev. Thomas Roberts, 
Rev. Richard Watson, Rev. Thomas Jackson 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Original Hymn Book, as published by Mr. Wesley — Altera- 
tions and Additions in the present Hymn Book— Transla- 
tions from the German — Classification of the Hymns, 
according to their respective Authors 30 

CHAPTER III. 

Excellence of the Wesleyan Hymns in Sentiment 47 

CHAPTER IV. 

Excellence of the Hymns in Language, and as Poetical 
Compositions — Alterations made by various Compilers in 
Wesley's Hymns— Specimens of True Sublimity 64 



XU CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

Remarks, Critical, Explanatory, and Cautionary, on several 
of the Hymns 87 

CHAPTER VI. 
Remarks on various Hymns, continued 114 

CHAPTER VII. 
Remarks on various Hymns, continued 147 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Remarks on various Hymns, continued * 170 

CHAPTER IX. 
Remarks on various Hymns, continued 198 

CHAPTER X. 
Remarks on various Hymns, concluded 233 

CHAPTER XI. 
General Advices and Cautions 263 

APPENDIX. 

The Reviewer Reviewed, and "Wesleyan Hymnology Vindi- 
cated; or, Remarks on an Article inserted in the Wes- 
leyan Methodist Magazine for July, 1845 277 



WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 



CHAPTEE I. 

DIVINE PROVIDENCE DISPLAYED IN THE RISE AND 

PROGRESS OP METHODISM JOHN WESLEY JOHN 

FLETCHER CHARLES WESLEY PECULIAR CALL- 
ING OF THE LATTER, AS THE BARD OF METHODISM 

TESTIMONIES TO THE EXCELLENCE OF HIS 

SACRED POETRY, FROM JAMES MONTGOMERY, REV. 
THOMAS ROBERTS, REV. RICHARD WATSON, REV. 
THOMAS JACKSON. 

To the genuine Christian it is always a pleasant 
and a profitable task, to trace the hand of Divine 
Providence directing and controlling the various 
revolutions of human affairs; especially in those 
things which are connected with the salvation of 
souls, and the extension of the Redeemer's king- 
dom. The estabhshment and spread of Chris- 
tianity in the early ages — the commencement and 
progress of the reformation from Popery, in more 
recent times — and last of all, the rise and growth 
of Methodism in the British dominions and in 



2 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

foreign countries — all furnish, abundant proof of 
a wise, gracious, and almighty providence, ever 
watchful over the best interests of mankind, ever 
careful to promote the glory of God and the wel- 
fare of his creatures. Among the chosen instru- 
ments employed by Heaven in originating and 
maturing the system of Methodism, the venerable 
John Wesley holds the first place. For this 
situation he was perhaps better fitted, than any 
other mortal that has ever appeared since the days 
of St. Paul. His natural abilities — his literary 
acquirements — his diligent and ])er severing habits 
— his ardent piety — and his deep-felt conviction 
of a divine call to a most important work — all 
tended to make him, in a very eminent degree, a 
vessel of honour, sanctified and meet for the 
Master's use. It pleased God to endow him 
also with a bodily constitution unusually firm 
and vigorous, and to lengthen out his life to ex- 
treme old age ; so that for more than half a century, 
with astonishing zeal and success, he personally 
superintended the movements and directed the 
energies of that mighty machine, which God him- 
self had constructed and set in motion. 

While John Wesley was engaged, with untiling 
assiduity, in visiting the cities, towns, and villages 
of the land, preaching everywhere the unsearchable 
liches of Christ, and watching, with all the tender- 
ness and vigilance of a faithful pastor, over the 
flock, which he had gathered out of the world, 
Divine Providence raised up a most able and 



TO THE WESLEY AN HYMN BOOK. 3 

affectionate coadjutor in John Fletcher of Made-ley. 
By his exalted piety and his deep acquaintance 
with the things of God, this excellent man was 
admirably qualified to illustrate and defend those 
important views of evangelical truth which had been 
conscientiously adopted by Wesley. For cogency 
of argumentation, felicity of illustration, elegant 
simplicity of style, and uniform sweetness of 
temper, the controversial writings of John Fletcher 
have rarely been equalled, and never excelled. 
To the interests of Methodism his writings have 
rendered services scarcely less important than 
those of Wesley himself. 

And while contemplating the human agency 
by which God was pleased to carry on the great 
work of Methodism, we should never forget the 
venerated name of Charles Wesley. He was a 
lively and powerful preacher of the gospel, and 
in his earlier days assisted his brother very con- 
siderably by his ministerial labours. But his 
chief and distinguishing excellence was his talent 
for sacred poetry. He has been denominated, 
with great justice and propriety, the bard of 
Methodism. 

As God was about to raise up a new body of 
professing Christians, who were in time to become 
very numerous on both sides of the Atlantic, it 
was proper and necessary that they should be 
furnished with a sufficient variety of suitable 
hymns for public worship and for all devotional 
purposes. Nothing existed in those days, that 



4 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

could by any means answer the demands or supply 
the wants of this new Society. The version of 
the Psalms by Brady and Tate, though it possesses 
some merit and exhibits some specimens of tole- 
rably good poetry, would on the whole have been 
very meagre and unsatisfactory to those who had 
entered so largely into the enjoyment of Christian 
experience and Christian privileges. Even Watts' s 
Psalms and Hymns, though by far the best col- 
lection of devotional poetry then extant, were 
in some respects unsuitable, and, as a whole, 
insufficient. As John Wesley and Fletcher had 
each his own peculiar department in the common 
work — a department for which each was eminently 
fitted, and to which then energies were faithfully 
and perseveringly applied — so also Charles Wesley 
had Iris own peculiar department; one for which 
he was specially qualified, and in which no other 
person could have succeeded so well. Had not 
Charles Wesley been providentially led to write 
sacred poetry, there would have been a very 
serious deficiency in the system of Methodism ; 
its progress would not have been so rapid, nor 
its influences so extensive. It could not have 
been so serviceable in Mndling and sustaining the 
devotional spirit in the great congregation, or in 
aiding the religious exercises of the family and 
the duties of the closet. It could not have con- 
tributed so largely to alarm the careless and 
impenitent sinner ; to encourage and assist the 
sincere seeker of salvation ; to comfort the Chris- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 5 

tian believer arnid all the difficulties and dis- 
couragements of his way; to urge Trim on to 
the pursuit and attainment of high degrees of 
holiness; to administer consolation to the sub- 
jects of pain and affliction; and to enable the 
dying Christian to meet the last enemy with 
composure and fortitude, tiiirmphing through 
his great Redeemer. To Watts and to Charles 
Wesley this honour peculiarly belongs; and to 
the latter in as high a sense as to the former. 
Watts indeed took the lead; he had the pre- 
cedence, in point of time : but in every other 
respect, the two poets may be considered as 
occupying the same rank : only with this differ- 
ence, that Wesley's talents were destined specially 
to serve the interests of Methodism; and Watts's, 
those of other Christian denom in ations. 

If we view the Wesleyan hymns merely as 
poetical compositions, we shall find them to be 
of a veiy superior description, and deserving of 
the highest rank among productions of this class. 
Excepting a small proportion of Watts's hymns, 
and some of more recent date by Cowper, Mont, 
gomery, Heber, and a few others, there are no 
hymns whatever that deserve to be ranked with 
those of Charles Wesley. Doddridge, Toplady, 
Newton, Cennick, Steele, Beddome, and a host 
of others, are of an inferior class. Even Watts, 
with all his greatness and excellence, is not 
* entitled to that unqualified commendation which 
by many has been bestowed upon him. It has 
b 2 



6 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

long been the opinion of the writer of these 
remarks, that, in a poetical point of view, the 
majority of Watts's Psalms and Hymns are not 
a whit above mediocrity, and many of them below 
it. It was a circumstance highly advantageous 
to the poetical character of Charles Wesley, that 
his compositions were submitted to the keen and 
discriminating eye of his brother John, and that 
from the whole was formed that admirable selec- 
tion which is found in the general Hymn Book. 
For on examining the entire mass, it will appear 
that those hymns and verses which were omitted 
were, with few exceptions, much inferior to those 
which were taken, and that we have in that 
publication the best and choicest portions of the 
whole. Had the excellent Watts possessed some 
friend who would have acted in a similar way 
towards him, by selecting, abridging, and retrench- 
ing from the entire mass of his sacred poetry, and 
would have published this residuum only, that 
eminent man might have appeared to greater 
advantage as a Christian poet. There are many 
of Watts's compositions so meagre, so barren in 
poetic beauty, so destitute of dignity, that were 
these the only specimens of his ability, we might 
doubt whether he ought to be numbered among 
poets at all. But on the other hand it must be 
allowed, that some of his compositions possess 
high degrees of excellence and merit. Those of 
Watts's Psalms and Hymns that are embodied 
in the Wesleyan collection, are the best that he 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 7 

ever wrote. Had lie written no others, his name 
would have been immortalized among the lovers 
of sacred poetry, and his rank among Christian 
poets would have been quite as high as it 
now is. 

Some may be disposed to inquire, how it is 
that the high claims of Charles Wesley, as a 
writer of sacred verse, have been so generally 
overlooked, and that his compositions are so 
little known beyond the pale of the Methodist 
societies and congregations. Various causes, un- 
doubtedly, have concurred to produce this effect. 
That they who are strangers to inward and ex- 
perimental religion should not relish or admire 
such works, is just what might be expected. 
These hymns are full of religion ; every sentiment 
is most decidedly edifying and devout. There is 
nothing to gratify a carnal taste; nothing to 
encourage pride, self-esteem, love of worldly 
honour and applause ; nothing to meet the feel- 
ings of those who are desirous of sensual pleasures 
and indulgences; and nothing adapted to the 
views of those who would reduce religion to a 
mere set of opinions and a round of external 
observances. They who reject all that constitutes 
the life and power and essence of inward religion 
will of course reject a book which everywhere 
assumes the supreme importance and the absolute 
necessity of that experience, to which they know 
themselves to be total strangers. The depravity 
of our fallen nature, the carnality of the mind, 



6 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGT ; OR A COMPANION 

and our consequent aversion to the heart-searching 
and humbling truths of Holy Scripture, will fully 
account for the neglect and dislike of these hymns 
among many. 

That these hymns have been greatly under- 
valued by others, may be attributed to Calvinistic 
prejudices. They who in their theological views 
adopt a larger or smaller proportion of the pecu- 
liarities of Calvinism, will of course seek for 
hymns written by persons of their own sentiments : 
and this unquestionably is one principal reason 
why by many the hymns of Watts, Doddridge, 
Toplady, Hart, and Newton are preferred to those 
of Wesley. Had Charles Wesley been a Calvinist, 
and had he, with precisely the same degree of 
poetical talent and skill, interspersed a little 
Calvinian theology throughout his hymns, they 
would no doubt have been lauded and prized 
most highly among the Independents, the Baptists, 
and all classes of evangelical nonconformists; 
and ere this time, if Watts, Doddridge, Hart, and 
similar writers had not been excluded from their 
sanctuaries, at any rate Wesley would have taken 
the precedence of them all, and would have stood 
first on their list. And among the pious ministers 
and members of the church of England, some, in 
consequence of their Calvinistic predilections, 
and others, through a fear of receiving or sanction- 
ing anything that is not stamped with the appro- 
bation and recommended by the authority of 
prelates and convocations, royal declarations, and 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 9 

acts of parliament, have remained insensible to 
the merits of Charles Wesley's sacred poetry. 

The numerous ministers or others, who within 
the last half century have published collections 
of hymns for congregational use, have in general 
extracted more or less from Wesley's Hymns : 
but in many cases, while they have been careful 
to name other authors, they have concealed the 
name of Wesley, and have either published his 
hymns anonymously, or have ascribed them to a 
false author. In proof of this, it will be sufficient 
to state that in Bippon's Selection (eighteenth 
edition) there are at least twenty-seven of Charles 
Wesley's hymns without his name : in Willcocks' 
Collection there are fifteen of Wesley's hymns 
either without any name, or ascribed to some one 
else : in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist (third 
edition) there are twenty-four of Charles Wesley's 
hymns without his name, and ten others marked 
as Moravian, which were translated from the Ger- 
man original by John Wesley. In Bickersteth's 
Christian Psalmody (1841) there are twenty-two 
of Wesley's hymns, and in Conder's Congregational 
Hymn Book (1836) there are twenty-nine, either 
without any name, or with a wrong name ap- 
pended to them. As specimens of the erroneous 
authorship ascribed to certain hymns, it may be 
stated that in various publications, 

Hymn 65 — 

" Ye virgin souls, arise," 

has been attributed to Doddridge ; 



10 WESLEYAX HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

Hymn 75 — 

" Lift your eyes of faith and see," 

to De Courcy ; 
Hymn 531 — 

" Christ, whose glory fills the skies," 

to Toplady ; all of which were undoubtedly com- 
posed by Charles Wesley : and 
Hymn 190— 

" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness," 

has been attributed to Cennick ; 
Hymn 673— 

" Commit thou all thy griefs," 

to Luther ; both of which were translated from 
the German by John Wesley. 

Montgomery, the bard of Sheffield, appears to 
have been the first man of genius, the first, 
deserving the name of a poet, that was both able 
and willing to do justice to the poetical merits 
of Charles Wesley. From his introductory essay 
prefixed to the " Christian Psalmist," the follow- 
ing admirable remarks are extracted. 

" Next to Dr. Watts as a hymn-writer, un- 
doubtedly stands the Key. Charles Wesley. * 
* * * * Christian experience, from 
the depths of affliction, through all the gradations 
of doubt, fear, desire, faith, hope, expectation, to 
the transports of perfect love, in the very beams 
of the beatific vision — Christian experience fur- 
nishes him with everlasting and inexhaustible 
themes ; and it must be confessed, that he has 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 11 

celebrated them with an affluence of diction, and 
a splendour of colouring, rarely surpassed. At 

the same time he has invested them with a power 
of truth, and endeared them both to the imagina- 
tion and affection, with a pathos which makes 
feeling conviction, and leaves the understanding 
little to do, but to acquiesce in the decisions of 
the heart. As the poet of Methodism, he has 
sung the doctrines of the gospel, as they are 
expounded among that people, dwelling especially 
on the personal appropriation of the words of 
eternal life to the sinner, or the saint, as the test 
of his actual state before God, admitting nothing 
less than the full assurance of faith, as the privi- 
lege of believers — 

* Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 

And looks to that alone, 
Laughs at impossibilities, 
And cries — ' It shall be done ! ' 

' Faith lends its realizing light ; 
The clouds disperse, the shadows fly : 
Th' Invisible appears in sight, 
And God is seen by mortal eye.' 

These are glimpses of our author's manner, broad 
indeed and awful, but signally illustrative ; like 
hghtning out of darkness, revealing for a moment 
the whole hemisphere. * * * * If 
Charles Wesley's hymns are less varied than 
might have been desired for general purposes, it 
was from choice, and predilection for certain 
views of the gospel in its effects upon human 



12 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ', OR A COMPANION 

minds, and not from want of diversity of gifts. 
It is probable that the severer taste of his brother, 
the Eev. John Wesley, greatly tempered the ex- 
travagance of Charles, pruned his luxuriances, 
and restrained his impetuosity, in those hymns 
of his, which form a large proportion of the 
Methodist collection ; the few which are under- 
stood to be John's, in that book, being of a more 
intellectual character than what are known to be 
Charles's, while the latter are wonderfully im- 
proved by abridgment and compression, in com- 
parison with the originals, as they were first given 
to the public." 

The following instances will serve as specimens 
of the extent to which many of Charles Wesley's 
hymns are abridged in the collection published 
by his brother. 

Hymns 266, 267, 268— 

" Soldiers of Christ, arise." 
" But above all lay hold." 
" In fellowship, alone." 

are reduced from 16 double verses to 12. 
Hymn 294— 

" Jesus, thou sovereign Lord of all." 

from 10 verses to 5. 

Hymns 314, 315— 

" Hark ! how the watchmen cry." 
" Angels your march oppose." 

from 12 double verses to 8. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 13 

Hymns 16, 17— 

" Happy the souls that first believed." 
" Jesus, from whom all blessings flow." 

from. 30 verses to 22. 
And Hymn 2— 

11 Come, sinners, to the gospel feast." 

from 24 verses to 9. 

The following appropriate remarks are from 
the pen of the Eev. Thomas Roberts. 

" The high calling of Methodism is experi- 
mental religion. To depict experimental religion 
in all its varieties, in a manner no poet ever did, 
was the high calling of the bar d of Methodism. 
The amiable, candid, and poetical Watts disco- 
vered not only the modesty of a Christian, bnt the 
discernment, without the envy, of a poet, when 
he said, to have been the writer of Mr. Charles 
Wesley's evangelical paraphrase of ' Wrestling 
Jacob/ he would relinquish all the poetic honours 
derived from his own numerous productions. In 
the poetry of Mr. Charles Wesley we find all the 
views and feelings, all the agonies and triumphs 
of the Christian, in every stage of the divine life, 
from the commencement of the great work of 
regeneration in the conviction of the sinner, to 
the beatification of the saint before the throne of 
God and the Lamb. * * * * There 
will not be denied to these compositions, in 
addition to their perfection of sentiment, many 
beauties belonging legitimately to the poetic 



14 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OE A COMPANION 

order. The diction displays both purity and 
perspicuity throughout, and strength combined 
with chasteness in every part, A rough, inhar- 
monious line can scarcely be met with. Whence 
is this undeniable combination of harmony, ful- 
ness, and precision, so emhiently characterizing 
Mr. C. Wesley's poetry? It is a spontaneous 
effect; a genial effusion, flowing front a heart 
forcibly, tenderly, and warmly impressed with 
the profound reality and infinite importance of 
the subjects. * * * How must that poet 
have felt, who, realizing 



- in dread array, 



The pomp of that tremendous day/ 

places, at the same time ' a half-awakened child 
of man ' upon a stupendous site, respecting his 
personal concern in the awful process of the 
judgment — a site, which makes dizzy the very 
imagination of the reader, in its bare contempla- 
tion ! 

' Lo ! on a narrow neck of land, 
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand, 

Secure, insensible ! 
A point of time, a moment's space, 
Removes me to that heavenly place, 

Or — shuts me up in hell.' 

" To readers possessing any refinement of per- 
ception, there will appear in these works a striking 
excellence, elevating them above most compositions 
of the kind. With all then warmth of piety (and 
where can we meet with more ardour ?) there are 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 15 

no luscious, disgusting epithets, such as frequently 
offend in the hymns of some of the Latin fathers, 
and in many of the present age. The manliness 
of the piety is in imison with the strength and 
dignity of the diction. Nor are these hymns 
upheld hy the weak support of unmeaning super- 
numeraries. No ' expletives then feeble aid do 
join.' And the opposite defect finds no place : 
they are not debased by the low familiarity of 
abbreviations; a fault fop.- which nothing can 
atone. If these be disagreeable, when occurring 
in addresses to the Divine Majesty, they become 
excessively offensive when the Almighty is made 
to talk, if it may be so said, in vulgar, colloquial 
terms. But here we meet with no continual 
recurrence of III, you'll they 11, wont, cant, shan't, 
and the rest of the humble family of the abbrevia- 
tures. 

" There is another perfection in Mr. Charles 
Wesley's compositions. Many as they are, he 
has made them all conform to that canon of 
English lyrics, that every line should have a 
corresponding rhyme. Dr. Watts did not take 
the liberty to transgress this law, without apolo- 
gizing for his offences. But a troop of unlicensed 
hymn-wrights, finding then convenience in this 
method of penning lines, have not only scrawled 
in Short and Common Metre, in which Dr. Watts 
presumed to overleap the legal boundary, but 
they give us verses of eight syllables, both in 
iambics and anapaests, and even verses of ten 



16 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OB A COMPANION 

syllables, without unison of sound at the termi- 
nation of the first and third lines. This defect 
is not found in any of Mr: C. Wesley's hynrns. 

" Nevertheless it is not for the purpose merely 
of completing a rhyme, that in any instance we 
perceive our poet compelled to adopt a correspond- 
ing word ; giving (to use the shrewd remark 
of a poet) ' one line for rhyme, and one for sense.' 
And he is equally remote from the tame, prosaic 
admeasurements, flowing froni one projected term 
to its forestalled associate; for when a stanza 
is begun, we do not drop down by a current, as 
it were, to a precise landing-place. Both the 
anomaly and the spontaneity of rhyme are excluded. 
They are thrown off to an equal distance on each 
hand, by a poet possessing sufficient energies to 
maintain a dignified mediiun. 

"These, with many more, are the classical 
merits of Mr. C. Wesley's compositions. The 
language is chaste and pure, the numbers smooth, 
the rhyme well maintained; strong without clumsi- 
ness; elegant without nhnsiness; having that 
uniform contemperation of original qualities, 
which, in every art, gives the inimitable charac- 
teristic of a master. Thus Raphael is recognised 
in the Cartoons, Sir Christopher Wren in St. 
Paul's, and Charles Wesley in sacred poetry. 

" As the soul gives being and character to the 
individual man, so the pure, vigorous, and evan- 
gelical piety, vitally embracing every member, 
and glowing throughout the whole body of Mr, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 17 

C. Wesley's hymns, gives thern an unqualified 
claim to a distinct and unrivalled character, in the 
department of devotional poetry."* 

These remarks may advantageously be followed 
by those of another distinguished writer, the Eev- 
Eichard Watson. 

" For the spiritual advantages which the Me 
thodists have derived from his inestimable hymns, 
the memory of Mr. Charles Wesley deserves to 
be had in their everlasting remembrance; and 
they are not insensible of the value of the gift. 
Their taste has been formed by this high standard ; 
and we may venture to say, there are few col- 
lections of psalms and hynms in use in any other 
congregations, that would, as a ichole, be tolerated 
amongst them ; so powerful has been the effect 
produced by his superior compositions. The 
clear and decisive character of the religious ex- 
perience which they describe, their force and life 
and earnestness, commended them at the first 
to the piety of the societies, and through that 
insensibly elevated the judgment of thousands, 
who otherwise might have relished, as strongly 
as others, the rudeness of the old version of the 
Psalms, the tameness of the new, and the tinsel 
metaphors and vapid sentimentalisms which dis- 
figure numerous compositions of different authors. 
* * * * From the rustic rhyming 
of Sternhold and Hopkins to the psalms and 

* From a pamphlet entitled, "Hymnology; or a Dissertation 
on Hymns," &c— Published at Bristol, 1808. 
C 2 



18 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

hymns of Dr. Watts, the advance was indeed 
unspeakably great. A few, however, only of the 
latter, are unexceptionable throughout. "When 
they are so, they leave nothing to be desired; 
but many of Dr. Watts's compositions begin well, 
often nobly, and then fall off into dulness and 
puerility; and not a few are utterly worthless, 
as being poor in thought, and still more so in 
expression. The piety and sweetness of Dod- 
dridge's hymns must be felt ; but they are often 
verbose and languid, and withal faulty and affected 
in their metaphors. The Olney Collection has 
many delightful hymns for private use ; but they 
are far from being generally fit for the public 
service of religion, and are often in bad taste » 
not even excepting many of Cowper's. * * 

" To Dr. Watts and to Mr. Charles Wesley the 
largest share of gratitude is due from the churches 
of Christ, for that rich supply of Psalms and 
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in which the assem- 
blies of the pious may make melody unto the 
Lord, in strains which angels might often delight 
to hear. No others are to be named with these 
sweet singers of the spiritual Israel; and it is 
probable, that, through the medium of their 
verse chiefly, will the devotions of our churches 
be poured forth till time shall be no more. No 
other poets ever attained such elevation as this. 
They honoured God in their gifts, and God has 
thus honoured them to be the mouth of his 
people to him, in their solemn assemblies, in their 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 19 

private devotions, and in the struggles of death 
itself. 

" It would he an unprofitable task to compare 
the merits of these two great psalmists. Each 
had excellences not found in the other. Watts 
however excels Mr. Charles Wesley only in the 
sweeter flow of his numbers, and in the feeling 
and sympathy of those of his hymns which are 
designed to administer comfort to the afflicted- 
In composition he was, in all respects, decidedly 
his inferior; in good taste, classic elegance, uni- 
formity, correct rhyming, and vigour. As to 
the theology of their respective hymns, leaving 
particular doctrines out of the question, the great 
truths of religious experience are far more clearly 
and forcibly embodied by Mr. Charles Wesley 
than by Dr. Watts. * * * * The 
greater part of his poetry was consecrated to 
promote the work of God in the heart. Never 
were its differ ent branches, from the first awaken- 
ing of the soul out of the sleep of sin, to its state 
of perfected hohness, with all its intermediate 
conflicts and exercises, more justly or scripturally 
expressed; and there is, perhaps, no uninspired 
book from which, as to ' the deep things of God' 
so much is to be learned, as from his Hymn Book 
in use in the Methodist congregations."* 

To these observations may properly be sub- 
j oined those of an eminent minister of the present 
day, the Eev. Thomas Jackson. 

* From Watson's Life of the Rev. John Wesley. 



20 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

"It is as a writer of devotional poetry, that 
Mr. Charles Wesley will he permanently remem- 
bered, and that his name will live in the annals of 
the chinch. In the composition of hymns adapted 
to Christian worship, he certainly has no equal 
in the English language, and is perhaps superior 
to every other uninspired man that ever lived. 
It does not appear that any person besides him- 
self, in any section of the universal church, has 
either written so many hymns, or hymns of such 
surpassing excellence. * * * * 

While he possessed the true poetic spirit, he 
thoroughly understood the art of poetry ; so that 
his compositions are not only free from the literary 
blemishes and defects which disfigure the works 
of many less-instructed writers, but in their 
numbers and general structure they invariably 
display the hand of a master. * * * 

While his sentiments and language are admired 
by the most competent judges of good writing, 
his hymns are perfectly intelligible to the common 
people ; thousands of whom, possessed of spiritual 
religion, feel then truth and power, and sing 
them with rapturous delight. His metres are 
very numerous, perhaps more so than those of 
any other English writer whatever; and it is 
difficult to say in which of them he most excelled. 
This variety renders the reading of his books 
exceedingly agreeable. His cadences never pall 
on the ear, and never weary the attention. Like 
scenes in nature, and the best musical composi- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 21 

tions, they are perpetually varying, and charm by 
their novelty. * * * Occasionally 
he did not hesitate to borrow a thought from 
other men, and cast it into his own mould ; and 
while he proposed it in his own incomparable 
diction, he never failed to expand and improve it. 
He did not borrow the thoughts of other men 
because he was himself destitute of the inventive 
faculty; for his hymns which are perfectly original, 
are far more numerous and embrace a wider 
range of subjects, than those of any other writer 
in the English language. His object in composi- 
tion was first his own edification, and then the 
edification of the church ; and he was ready to 
press into his service whatever was likely to 
advance these holy designs. * * * His 
was the genuine lyrical spirit, sanctified and invi- 
gorated by the Holy Ghost, expressing itself in 
gushes and sudden bursts of feeling, ascending at 
once to the loftiest eminence, apparently without 
an effort. He aimed at ' no middle flight,' but at 
a direct ascent to the heaven of heavens. There 
he beheld the Three-One God, as the endless por- 
tion of his people. Seeing time and created 
nature in all their insignificance, and anticipating 
the consummation of all things, he bursts forth 
in a strain more than human— 

' Vanish then this world of shadows ! 
Pass the former things away ! 
Lord ! appear, appear to glad us 
With the dawn of endless day. 



22 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

O conclude this mortal story ! 

Throw this universe aside ! 
Come, eternal King of glory, 

Now descend, and take thy bride.' 



" One of the most striking peculiarities of Mr. 
Charles Wesley's poetry is its energy. He always 
writes with vigour ; for he is always in earnest. 
As he felt deeply, and had a singular command 
of language, he expresses himself with great 
force. Never does he weaken his lines by un- 
necessary epithets, or any redundancy of words ; 
and he evidently aimed more at strength than 
smoothness. Yet he had too fine an ear ever to 
be rugged ; and whenever he chose, he could 
rival the most tuneful of his brethren in the 
liquid softness of his numbers. * * * 

" But the crowning excellence of his hymns 
is the spirit of deep and fervent piety which they 
everywhere breathe. In the range of their sub- 
jects they embrace the entire system of revealed 
truth, both doctrinal and practical, with the prin- 
cipal facts of Scrip tme history; and apply the 
whole of them to purposes of personal godliness. 
*-.*"* AH these he has illustrated 
with a diction of unrivalled purity, strength, and 
beauty, and formed into addresses to God, in 
adoration, confession, prayer, deprecation, thanks- 
giving, and praise. * * * 

" The poetry of this very eminent man is 
thoroughly evangelical. It is humiliating to see 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 23 

in the collections of hymns nsed by Arian and 
Socinian congregations, many which bear the 
names of orthodox divines. They relate mostly 
to the works and providence of God, and other 
subjects of a collateral kind, without any refer- 
ence to the trinity of Persons in the Godhead, 
the atonement for sin made by the death of Christ, 
justification through faith in his blood, and the 
influences of the Holy Ghost, as one of the bene- 
fits of Christ's mediation. Whereas these glorious 
peculiarities of the evangelical revelation con- 
stitute the very substance of Charles Wesley's 
verse. They cannot be expunged by a slight 
alteration in the phraseology. If these verities 
are excluded, the hymns in general are destroyed ; 
and hence his compositions, notwithstanding their 
high and undeniable poetical merit, are seldom 
found in the devotional books of heterodox wor- 
shippers. * * * * 

" During the last fifty years few collections of 
hymns, designed for the use of evangelical con- 
gregations, have been made without a consider- 
able number of his compositions, which are 
admired in proportion as the people are sjDiritu- 
ally minded. His hymns are therefore exten- 
sively used in secret devotion, in family worship, 
and in public religious assemblies. Every Sab- 
bath-day myriads of voices are lifted up, and 
utter, in the hallowed strains which he has sup- 
plied, the feelings of penitence, of faith, of grate- 
ful love, and joyous hope, with which the Holy 



24 WESLEYAN HYftTNOLOGY J OK A COMPANION 

Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, has inspired 
them; and are thus in a course of training for 
the more perfect worship of heaven. * * * 
They are perfectly free from all sickly sentiment- 
ality, especially that which some modern poets 
affect, by a perpetual reference to consecrated 
places, sacred vestments, holy water, and the 
trumpery of Papal Eome ; as if religion were a 
mere matter of the imagination, and Christians 
were still under the Jewish law. His hymns 
are as rational and manly in sentiment, as they 
are pure and elegant in composition. Their 
theology is thoroughly scriptural. * * * 
No other hymns in the English language so fully 
exhibit those just views of apostolical Christianity, 
which the author and his brother were a means of 
reviving. All that these men of God taught in the 
pulpit, and that thousands of their spiritual chil- 
dren have experienced, the hymns adequately 
express. They assume that it is the common 
privilege of believers to enjoy the direct and abid- 
ing witness of their personal adoption; to be 
made free from sin by the sanctifying Spirit ; to 
live and die in the conscious possession of that- 
perfect love which casteth out fear; and they 
express a strong and irrepressible desire for these 
blessings, with the mighty faith by which they are 
obtained. Thus he teaches the mourning peni- 
tent to pray for pardon, and the peace of God 
which attends it — 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 25 

1 O that I could the blessing prove, 

My heart's extreme desire ; 
Live happy in my Saviour's love, 
And in his arms expire ! 
***** 

In answer to ten thousand prayers, 

Thou pardoning God, descend ! 
Number me with salvation's heirs, 

My sins and troubles end ! 

Nothing I ask or want beside, 

Of all in earth or heaven, 
But let me feel thy blood applied, 

And live and die forgiven.' 

" In reference to the higher blessing of entire 
sanctirication, he thus sings — 

1 Where the indubitable seal, 

That ascertains the kingdom mine 1 
The powerful stamp I long to feel, 

The signature of love divine ! 
O shed it in my heart abroad, 
Fulness of love, of heaven, of God ! ' 

" No man ever excelled him in expressing the 
power of faith — 

1 The thing surpasses all my thought ; 

But faithful is my Lord ; 
Through unbelief I stagger not, 
For God hath spoke the word. 

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 

And looks to that alone ; 
Laughs at impossibilities, 

And cries, ' It shall be done.' 



26 wesleyax hymnologt; or a companion 

' My flesh which cries, ' It cannot be/ 
Shall silence keep before the Lord : 
And earth, and hell, and sin shall flee 
At Jesu's everlasting word.' 

' ; Great praise is due to the excellent Dr. Watts 
for the hynins with wlhch he favoured the 
churches. Many of thern are exceedingly beau- 
tiful and devotional. He had the honour, too, of 
taking the lead in this most important service; 
being the first of our poets that successfully 
applied Ms talents to such lyrical compositions 
as are adapted to the use and edification of .Chris- 
tian assemblies. But in the vehement language 
of the heart, in power of expression, in the variety 
of Iris metres, and in the general structure of his 
verse, he is not equal to Charles Wesley, any 
more than in richness of evangelical sentiment, 
and in deep religious experience. The Doctor 
teaches Christians to sing with mixed emotions of 
desire, hope, and doubt — 

( Could we but climb where Moses stood, 

And view the landscape o'er, 
Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood, 
Should fright us from the shore.'' 

Whereas Charles Wesley has attained the desired 
eminence, and thence triumphantly exclaims — 

1 The promised land, from Pisgah's top, 

I now exult to see; 
My hope is full (O glorious hope !) 
Of immortality.' 

11 It is doubtful whether any human agency 
whatever has contributed more directly to form 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. lit 

the character of the Methodist societies than the 
hymns of Charles Wesley, which they are con- 
stantly in the hahit of singing, and with which 
then memories are richly charged. The sermons 
of the preachers, the instructions of the class- 
leaders, the prayers of the people, both in their 
families and social meetings, are all tinged with 
the sentiments and phraseology of his hymns. 
In his beautiful and expressive lines many of 
them are accustomed to give utterance to their 
desires and hopes, then sorrows and fears, their 
confidence and joy ; and in innumerable instances 
they have expired with his verses upon then 
lips. * * >:< They have found his hymns 
and spiritual songs to breathe the very language 
of heaven ; and they have only exchanged them 
for the song of Moses and of the Lamb. 

"It is an important fact, that this gifted man, 
apparently without design, has anticipated all 
the wants of the Wesley an Connexion, with 
respect to devotional poetry. He has supplied 
it with hymns adapted to every religious service, 
even missionary meetings, which were unknown 
in his time, and, strange as it may seem ! even 
the ordination of ministers. He did indeed speak 
to the people in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs, to then edification and comfort. In every 
place and at all times he ' had a hymn, had a 
psalm.' At funerals, at weddings, in the domestic 
circle, in the public congregation, at the table of 
the Lord, he was prepared to lead the devotions 



28 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OB A COMPANION 

of those around him. When attended by immense 
multitudes in the open ah*, and under the wide 
canopy of heaven, he called upon them to sing 
with heart and voice — 

' Ye mountains and vales In praises abound ; 
Ye hills and ye dales Continue the sound : 
Break forth into singing, Ye trees of the wood, 
For Jesus is "bringing Lost sinners to God.' 

" When assembled with his Christian Mends in 
a tea-party, he attempted to stir up their pure 
minds, by calling upon them to join in this lively 
and joyous strain — 

' How pleasant and sweet, In his name when we meet, 

Is his fruit to our spiritual taste ! 
We are banqueting here On angelical cheer, 

And the joys that eternally last. 
Invited by him, We drink of the stream 

Ever flowing in bliss from the throne : 
Who in Jesus believe, We the Spirit receive 

That proceeds from the Father and Son. 
* * * * * 
Come, Lord, from the skies, And command us to rise, 

Ready made for the mansions above; 
With our Head to ascend, And eternity spend 

In a rapture of heavenly love.' 

" On the return of his wife's birth-day he invited 
her to join in the holy and joyous strain — 

' Come away to the skies, My beloved, arise, 

And rejoice in the day thou wast born : 
On this festival day, Come exulting away, 

And with singing to Sion return. 
We have laid up our love And treasure above, 

Though our bodies continue below ; 
The redeemed of the Lord, We remember his word, 

And with singing to Paradise go. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 20 

With thanks we approve The design of thy love, 

Which hath joined us in Jesus' s name ; 
So united in heart, That we never can part, 

Till we meet at the feast of the Lamb. 

There, there at his feet We shall suddenly meet, 

And he parted in body no more ! 
We shall sing to our lyres, With the heavenly choirs, 

And our Saviour in glory adore. 

Hallelujah we sing, To our Father and King, 

And his rapturous praises repeat : 
To the Lamb that was slain, Hallelujah again, 

Sing all heaven, and fall at his feet ! 

In assurance of hope, We to Jesus look up, 

Till his banner unfurled in the air 
From our graves we shall see, And cry out ' It is he !' 

And fly up to acknowledge him there.' 

" His heart overflowed with sacred verse, till 
it ceased to beat; and his tuneful voice was 
never silent till it was silenced in death. He is 
gone; but the imperishable fruit of his sanctified 
genius remains, as one of the richest legacies 
ever bequeathed to the church by her faithful 



* From Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. ii. 
page 476, &c. 



d2 



CHAPTER II. 

OEIGINAL HYMN BOOK AS PUBLISHED BY ME. WES- 
LEY ALTEBATIONS AND ADDITIONS IN THE PRE- 
SENT HYMN BOOK— TRANSLATIONS. FROM THE 
GERMAN CLASSIFICATION OF THE HYMNS, ACCORD- 
ING TO THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHORS. 

The Collection of Hymns, for the use of the 
people called Methodists, as originally published 
by the Rev. John Wesley, was a duodecimo 
volume of 504 pages, exclusive of the Index, and 
contained 525 hymns.* Six of these, however, 
are in the present Hymn Book divided, and each 
of them counted as two ; namely Hymns 24 and 
25, 140 and 141, 194 and 195, 348 and 349, 365 
and 366, 391 and 392. If these had been thus 
divided and counted in the original hymn book, 
the number would have been 531. Of these, 
eleven are totally omitted, namely — 

Hymn 37 — Saviour, if thy precious love 

Could be merited by mine. 
Hymn 94 — Ah ! foolish world, forbear 

Thy unavailing pain. 

* These observations are made on a copy of the Hymn Book 
announced on the title page, as the Third Edition, Corrected, 
and published in London, 1782. 



WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 31 

Hymn 107 — Friend of sinners, in thy heart, 

Tell me, doth there not remain. 
Hymn 115—0 thou, of whom I oft have heard, 

Heard with the hearing of the ear. 
Hymn 116 — When my relief will most display 

Thy glory in thy creature's good. 
Hymn 143— Jesu, as taught by thee, I pray ; 

Preserve me, till I see thy light. 
Hymn 230— O Lord our God, we bless thee now, 

To thee our souls and bodies bow. 
Hymn 244 — Jesu, my Lord, my God, 

The God supreme thou art. 
Hymn 245 — Jesus, thou art the mighty God, 

The Child and Son, on us bestowed. 
Hymn 249 — The wisdom, owned by all thy sons, 

To me, O God, impart. 
Hymn 255— Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 

Inexplicably one and three, 

and one, Hymn 156 in the original, has heen 
transferred to the Supplement, where it now 
appears as Hymn 684. Deducting 12 from 531, 
we find there are in our present hynin hook, 
exclusive of the Additional Hymns and the 
Supplement, 519 of those included in the original 
publication. To these have heen added 21 others, 
making the total 540. * The following are those 
which have heen thus introduced; Hymns 38, 39, 
66, 90, 97, 107, 111, 119, 120, 143, 149, 162, 169, 
213, 228, 253, 257, 263, 276, 490, 500. 

On comparing the hymns omitted with those 
suhstituted for them, most persons will prohahly 

* There are two distinct hymns, both numbered 46; so that 
the entire number in the volume is in reality one more than it 
appears to be ; that is, in the body of the work 540 ; Hymn 
Book and Supplement 770. 



32 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

agree, that the alteration has been very much for 
the better. The hymns omitted, though by no 
means destitute of poetical merit, and superior 
indeed to many that have appeared in modern 
compilations, are generally below the standard of 
the Wesleyan compositions; none of them cer- 
tainly of any particular excellence. Whereas 
among the hymns substituted are several of very 
superior value; some, as fine evangelical para- 
phrases of Scripture passages (Hymns 90, 107, 
111, 490;) some, as being admirably adapted for 
public worship, (Hymns 253, 25T, 263;) and 
some, as being beautifully descriptive of inward 
and experimental religion, (Hymns 97, 143, 213, 
228, 500.) Most of these 21 hymns indeed are 
in all respects so excellent, that the wonder is, 
how Mr. Wesley came to overlook or omit them, 
when preparing his standard collection for gene- 
ral use. 

In the hymns which are retained in the present 
editions, a few verses are occasionally omitted; 
but they are generally such as have but little to 
recommend them, or are objectionable on some 
ground or other. In Hymn 217, the second 
verse was : — 

" Soon as I find myself forsook, 
The grace again is given ; 
A sigh can reach thy heart ; a look 
Can bring thee down from heaven." 

This was perhaps omitted because of the gram- 
matical blunder in the first line—; forsook instead 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 33 

of forsaken — but the thought in the third and 
fourth lines is very striking, and beautifully ex- 
pressed. 

Hymn 251 contained originally eight verses, 
of which three, namely verses 4, 7, 8, have been 
omitted. They used to stand thus : 

4 " Thy righteousness our sins keep down, 
Thy peace our passions bind ; 
And let us, in thy joy unknown, 
The first dominion find. 

7 When shall we hear his trumpet sound, 

The latest of the seven ? 
Come, King of saints, with glory crowned, 
The eternal God of heaven ! 

8 Judge of the anti-christian foe, 

Appear on earth again ; 
And then thy thousand years below, 
Before thy ancients reign." 

The expression at the close of verse 4, the 
first dominion, though found in Holy "Writ, (Micah 
iv. 8,) is obscure, and the propriety of its being 
thus applied is at least doubtful. Verses 7 and 
8, though elegant and spirited in composition, and 
fully accordant with the language of Scripture, 
are not well adapted for general use ; and would 
tend rather to encourage unprofitable speculations 
about unfulfilled prophecy, than to promote the 
edification of a promiscuous assembly. 

In Hymn 284, one verse, the second, has been 
omitted ; which stood thus : 

2 "I cannot see thy face, and live ! 

Then let me see thy face, and die ! 

Now, Lord, my gasping spirit receive ; 

Give me on eagles' wings to flv ; 



34 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

With eagle's eyes on thee to gaze, 
And plunge into the glorious blaze." 

This is poetry of a high order ; but the lan- 
guage is too bold, Tenement, and impassioned for 
common use. 

Hymn 287 had originally a fifth Terse, and 
one of considerable beauty, well worthy of being 
perpetuated : — 

5 " Let me of thy life partake ; 
Thy own holiness impart; 
O that I might sweetly wake, 
With my Saviour in my heart ! 
O that I might know thee mine ! 
O that I might thee receive ! 
Only live the life divine, 
Only to thy glory live !" 

To the Moravian church and to the German 
language we are indebted for some of the most 
beautiful and most valuable hynins that were 
eTer written; especially for seTeral of those 
descriptiTe of inward and experimental religion. 
The Moravians were of eminent use to the two 
Wesleys in the early part of then career, in lead- 
ing them to correct and truly eTangelical Tiews 
on these most interesting subjects; and Mr. 
Wesley in his Journal mentions the great benefit 
which he derived from the sermons and con- 
Tersations of Peter Bohler, Christian David, 
Michael Linner, and others. As the Moravians 
probably had among them, at that period, more 
of deep religious experience than any other 
people on the earth, their hymns partook of the 
same character, and were particularly rich in 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 35 

their exhibitions of evangelical truth, and in 
their descriptions of the work of God in the 
soul of the believer. Several of the choicest of 
them are incorporated in the Methodist col- 
lection. 

It has generally been supposed that the trans- 
lations from the German hymn book were made 
not by Charles Wesley, but by John. This is 
stated by the Eev. Thomas Jackson,* to have 
been the opinion of Miss Sarah Wesley; who 
was certainly more likely to know the facts of 
the case than any person unconnected with the 
family. But the Rev. Richard Watson has 
expressed an opinion,f that these translations 
were made some by John Wesley, some by 
Charles ; and that in many of them there is 
internal evidence of Charles s manner. Probably 
Mr. Watson is quite correct in stating, that 
Johns versions are generally more polished and 
elegant; Charles had more fire and was more 
careless. And yet that even John, with all his 
characteristic calmness and sobriety, could some- 
times feel and manifest something of poetic fire, 
is evident from the last two verses of Hymn 68, 
which is universally allowed to have been written 
by him. These two verses especially are in a 
very lively, spirited, and impassioned strain, and 
conclude with the wish often expressed in the 
compositions of his brother Charles, that he might 

* See Wesley's Works, third edition, 8vo. vol. xiv. page 340. 
t See Watson's Life of the Rev. John Wesley, page 325. 



36 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

at once escape from the toils and sufferings of 
this life, and be admitted into the paradise of 
God. Mr. Watson thinks that we have no 
decisive evidence, that the translations were all 
made by John. On that point the present 
writer takes leave to differ from that great and 
good man. We have decisive evidence from 
Mr. John Wesley's Journals, that he studied and 
understood the German language. On his 
voyage to America in 1735-36, he occasionally 
joined with the Germans in public worship. 
While at Frederica in Georgia, in 1736, he used 
to conduct a religious service in his own house, 
for the express benefit of those who did not 
understand English ; on which occasions they 
first sang a hymn, then Mr. Wesley read and 
explained a chapter in the New Testament, then 
after singing a second hymn, they concluded 
with prayer ; all in the German language. In 
August, 1738, Mr. Wesley spent nearly a fort- 
night at Herrnhut, in Germany, where he em- 
braced every opportunity of attending the religious 
services of the Moravians, hearing the discourses 
of some of their eminent ministers, and con- 
versing largely and freely with them ; and all 
in the German language, unless when occasionally 
the Latin was employed, by way of explaining 
what he did not fully comprehend. These are 
facts which cannot be denied; and they prove 
that Mr. Wesley not only read and understood 
German works, but that he could even conduct 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 37 

divine worship and hold conversations in that 
language. Now we have no evidence at all, that 
Charles Wesley ever studied the German language, 
or that he ever read or understood any work 
written therein. 

All the hymns translated from the German 
are to be found in the poetical works issued 
in the joint names of the two brothers, in 1739, 
1740, 1743, 1745 ; during which period, unques- 
tionably, John must still have had a familiar* 
acquaintance with the language. 

In his sermon " On knowing Christ after the 
flesh," Mr. Wesley, speaking of the Moravians,, 
twenty-six in munber, whom he met with in his 
voyage to America, says — " We not only con- 
tracted much esteem, but a strong affection for 
them. Every day we conversed with them, and 
consulted them on all occasions. I translated 
many of their hymns for the use of our own 
congregations. Indeed, as I durst not implicitly 
follow any man, I did not take all that lay before 
me, but selected those which I judged to be most 
scriptural, and most suitable to sound experience*. 
Yet I am not sure that I have taken sufficient 
care to pare off every improper word or expres- 
sion."* Now Mr. Wesley frequently speaks of 
his brother's hymns, and his brother's poetry, 
and in referring to the various poetical publica- 
tions which had appeared among the Methodists, 

* Wesley's Sermons, Sermon 117; Works, third edition, vo-U 
vii. page 293. 

E 



38 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

he is always careful to associate his brother with 
himself. And if Mr. Charles Wesley had had 
any part in translating the German hymns, Mr. 
John Wesley's candour, accuracy, and regard for 
truth would have prompted hrm to say so, and 
his language would have been — " My brother and 
I translated many of their hymns. As we durst 
not implicitly follow any man, we did not take 
all that lay before us" &c. But here he uses 
the singular number exclusively, and s}3eaks of 
himself alone as being concerned in translating, 
judging, selecting, and paring off improper ex- 
pressions. Taken in connexion with all the 
facts and circumstances of the case, the above- 
quoted passage of the sermon appears to furnish 
sufficient and conclusive evidence, that the hymns 
from the G-emian were all translated by John 
Wesley ; not by Charles. 

It is a matter of some interest and importance 
to ascertain, as far as possible, those hymns in 
the Hymn Book and Supplement, which were 
not composed by Charles Wesley, and to assign 
them to their respective authors. This the writer 
has endeavoured to do ; and the following table 
will, it is hoped, be found accurate. 

The following were composed by Dr. Isaac 
Watts :- — 

Hymn 
12 — Come, ye that love the Lord. 
41—0 God, our help in ages past. 
42 — Thee we adore, eternal Name. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 39 

Hymn 
213— My God, the spring of all my joys. 
224— I'll praise my Maker, while I've breath. 
225 — Praise ye the Lord ! 'tis good to raise. 
226— Eternal Wisdom ! thee we praise. 
263— Father I how wide thy glory shines. 
316 — Eternal Power, whose high abode. 
540 — Before Jehovah's awful throne. 
541 — Lord of the worlds above. 
553— He dies, the Friend of sinners dies. 
568 — God is a name my soul adores. 
569 — The Lord Jehovah reigns. 
570 — High in the heavens, eternal God. 
573 — Come, sound his praise abroad. 
577 — Great God, attend, while Sion sings. 
578 — Sweet is the work, my God, my King. 
579 — Great is the Lord our God. 
581 — Welcome, sweet day of rest. 
587 — Let every tongue thy goodness speak. 
589— Sweet is the memory of thy grace. 
590 — In all my vast concerns with thee. 
593 — The Lord ! how wondrous are his ways. 
595 — Plung'd in a gulf of dark despair. 
596 — Who can describe the joys that rise. 
597 — Great God ! indulge my humble claim. 
599 — Begin, my soul, some heavenly theme. 
600 — Jesus, thou everlasting King. 
612- Behold ! the blind their sight receive. 
615 — Not all the blood of beasts. 
620 — Behold the sure Foundation-stone. 
623— When I survey the wondrous cross. 
634— What equal honours shall we bring, 
636 — Great God, whose universal sway. 
640 — Come, let us join our cheerful songs. 
641 — Join all the glorious names. 
646 — With joy we meditate the grace. 
648 — Let everlasting glories crown. 
652 — Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove. 
656— Wby should the children of a King. 
659—0 thou that hear'st when sinners cry. 
660 — How sad our state by nature is. 



40 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OE A COMPANION 

Hymn 

664 — Infinite Power, eternal Lord. 
665 — Long have I sat beneath the sound. 
672 — Awake, our souls ! away, our fears ! 
676 — Bless'd are the humble souls that see. 
678 — God is the refuge of his saints. 
679 — My Shepherd will supply my need. 
680 — Happy the heart where graces reign. 
685— To God, the only wise. 
695 — Let Sion in her King rejoice. 
697 — Jesus shall reign where'er the sun. 
698 — The heavens declare thy glory, Lord. 
699 — From all that dwell below the skies. 
701 — How beauteous are their feet. 
702 — Salvation ! O the joyful sound I 
716 — Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims. 
720 — Why do we mourn departing friends. 
721 —And must this body die. 
728— There is a land of pure delight. 
730 — Give me the wings of faith to rise. 
738 — How pleasant, how divinely fair. 
741 — How large the promise, how divine. 
751 — The promise of my Father's love. 
769 — I give immortal praise. 

The following by Dr. Philip Doddridge : — 

582 — Lord of the Sabbath, hear our vows. 
628 — Ye humble souls, that seek the Lord. 
651 — Sovereign of all the worlds on high. 
711— Eternal source of every joy. 
714 — God of my life, through all my days. 
736 — Great God, thy watchful care we bless. 
739 — Father of all, thy care we bless. 
743 — See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand. 
744 — The Saviour, when to heaven he rose. 
750— O happy day, that fix'd my choice. 

By John Dryden : — 

654— Creator Spirit, by whose aid. 

By Joseph Addison ;■ — 

567— The spacious firmament on high. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK, 41 

4 

Hymn 

592— When all thy mercies, O my God. 
765— How are thy servants bless'd, O Lord. 

By Bishop Ken : — 

757 — Awake, my soul, and with the sun. 
758— Glory to thee, my God, this night. 

By Brady and Tate : — 

571— With glory clad, with strength arrayed. 
584 — O render thanks to God above. 

Ascribed to Andrew Marvell : — 

223 — When Israel out of Egypt came. 

By the Be v. James Merrick : — 

585 — Far as creation's bounds extend. 

By Dr. Henry More : — 

456 — Father, if justly still we claim. 
457 — On all the earth thy Spirit shower. 

By the Bev. Samuel Wesley, sen. : — 
22 — Behold ! the Saviour of mankind. 

By the Bev. Samuel Wesley, jun. : 

46 — The morning flowers display their sweets. 
544— The Lord of Sabbath let us praise. 
561— Hail, Father! whose creating call. 
601— Hail, God the Son ! in glory crowned. 
613 — From whence these dire portents around. 
649— Hail, Holy Ghost ! Jehovah ! third. 

By the Bev. John Wesley : — - 

4 — Ho ! every one that thirsts, draw nigh. 
68 — How happy is the pilgrim's lot. 
235 — Father of all, whose powerful voice. 
236— Son of thy Sire's eternal love. 
237— Eternal, spotless Lamb of God. 
E 2 



42 WESLEYAN HYMNOLQGY J OB A COMPANION 

Translated, by the Bev. John Wesley, from the 
German : — 

Hymn 
23— Extended on a cursed tree. 
26—1 thirst, thou wounded Lamb of God. 
38 — O God, of good the unfathomed sea. 
133 — Jesus, whose glory's streaming rays. 

Original by Wolfgang Christopher Dessler. 
189 — Now I have found the ground wherein. 
190 — Jesus, thy blood and righteousness. 

Original by Count Zinzendorf. 
196— Into thy gracious hands I fall. 
210 — Thee will I love, my strength, my tower. 
240 — O God, thou bottomless abyss. \ 

241— Thou, true and only God, lead'st forth. / 

Original by Dr. Breithaupt. 
279— Shall I, for fear of feeble man. 
338 — Thou Lamb of God, thou Prince of peace. 
339 — O Thou, to whose all-searching sight. 
344 — Thou hidden love of God, whose height. 

Original by Gerhard Tersteegen. 
350 — Holy Lamb, who thee receive. 
353 — Jesu, source of calm repose. 
373 — Jesu, thy boundless love to me. 

Original by Paul Gerhard. 
431 — O God, what offering shall I give. 
492 — What shall we offer our good Lord. 
494 — Lo ! God is here I let us adore. 

Original by Gerhard Tersteegen. 
586— Eternal depth of love divine. 
610 — O God of gods, in whom combine. 
673— Commit thou all thy griefs. \ 
674 — Give to the winds thy fears. / 

Original by Paul Gerhard. 

Translated, by the Eev. John We sley, from the 
Spanish : — 

.437—0 God, my God, my all thou art. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 43 

Translate^, by the Eev. John Wesley, from the 
French : — 

Hymn 
285 — Come, Saviour, Jesus, from above. 

By William Cowper : — 

559 — God moves in a mysterious way. 
663 — O for a closer walk with God. 

By the Eev. Augustus M. Toplady : — 

624 — Rock of ages, cleft for me. 

By the Eev. Joseph Hart : — 

588—This, this is the God we adore. 

By the Eev. Joseph Stennett : — 

583 — Again our weekly labours end. 

By Miss Anne Steele : — 

580 — Great God, this hallowed day of thine. 
722 — Almighty Maker of my frame. 
746 — Father of mercies, in thy word. 

By the Eev. Thomas Olivers : — 

66 — Lo ! he comes with clouds descending. 
669— The God of Abraham praise. 
670 — Though nature's strength decay. 
671— Before the great Three-One. 

By the Eev. Benjamin Ehodes : — 

637 — My heart and voice I raise. 
638 — Jerusalem divine. 

Ascribed to John Bakewell : — 

633 — Hail, thou once despised Jesus. 

By Mrs. Agnes Bulmer :— 

737— Thou, who hast in Sion laid. 



44 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

By the Eev. William M. Bunting : — 

Hymn 
748—0 God ! how often hath thine ear. 

There are two hymns, 560 and 647, the authors 
of which I have not been able to ascertain. 
Hymn 560, it is believed, never appeared in any 
book published by Mr. Wesley. Hymn 647 is 
found in the " Collection of Psalms and Hymns" 
published in the joint names of John and Charles 
Wesley ; the fourth edition of which was printed 
in 1748. But that it was not the original com- 
position of either of the brothers, is pretty certain ; 
because the rhyming of the first and third lines 
is neglected. And among all the known produc- 
tions of Charles Wesley, we have not a single 
stanza in which this defect exists ; nor among 
those of John, except in two of his translated 
hymns, (673, 674,) which are partially defective. 

There is some uncertainty about Hymn 653. 
The fourth and following verses are found in the 
early editions of the Hymns and Sacred Poems, 
published in the name of the two brothers, and 
may confidently be attributed to Charles Wesley ; 
but the author of the first three verses is not 
known. They appear in a collection of Hymns* 
published in 1800 by Robert Carr Brackenbury, 
Esq., and were possibly composed by that gentle- 
man. Of Hymn 699 also it should be stated, 

* The title of the work is " Sacred Poetry; or Hymns on 
the principal Histories of the Old and New Testament, and on 
all the Parables contained in the latter." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 



45 



that the first and second verses are from Dr. 
Watts, and the fourth from Bishop Ken ; whence 
the third verse was taken, has not "been ascer- 
tained. 

It is highly prohahle that some few others of 
the hymns, besides the five enumerated above, 
were from the pen of John Wesley ; but we have 
no means of ascertaining which they are ; and in 
the absence of all satisfactory proof to the con- 
trary, the only alternative is to assign all that 
remain unaffiliated, to Charles Wesley. 

The Hymns in the Hymn Book and Supple- 
ment are numbered as 769 ; but there being two 
that are numbered 46, they are in reality 770. 
When classified according to their respective 
authors, they will stand thus — 



Watts . 


. 66 


Doddridge 

Diyden 

Addison 


. 10 

1 

. 3 


Ken . 


. 2 


Brady and Tate 
Marvell 


2 
. 1 


Merrick 


1 


More . 


2 


Samuel Wesley, sen. . 
Samuel Wesley, jun. . 
John Wesley . 
Translated by John Wesley 
from the German 


1 
6 
5 

24 



46 



WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 



Translated by 

from the I 

Translated by 


John W 
Spanish 
ditto from 


Bsley 
. 1 
the 


French 


. 1 


Cowper 
Toplady 
Hart . 








. 2 
1 

1 


Stennett 








1 


Miss Steele 








3 


Olivers 
Ehodes 








. 4 

2 


Bakewell 








1 


Mrs. Bulmer 








1 


Bunting 








1 


Authors unknown 






2 


Charles Wesley 






625 




To 


tal . 




. 770 



Thus it appears, that to the sanctified talent of 
Charles Wesley, we are, under God, indebted for 
about 625 out of the 770 hymns which constitute 
the collection now in use among the Methodists ; 
or for nearly six-sevenths of the whole, 



CHAPTER HI. 

EXCELLENCE OF THE WESLEYAN HYMNS, IN 
SENTIMENT. 

With great propriety does Mr. Wesley, in the 
preface, speak of his Hymn Book as being, in 
effect, a little body of experimental and practical 
divinity. To establish and illustrate this point, 
will be the object of the present chapter. 

Do we wish to have correct and scriptural 
views of the ever-blessed God, his glorious per- 
fections, and the relations which he sustains to 
us? Where shall we find these things better 
stated, than in Hymns 38, 199, 223 to 226, 232 
to 235, 238 to 245, 247 to 250, 263, 264, 316, 407, 
540 to 543, 561, 563, 564, 567 to 574, 576, 584 to 
593, 597, 598, 599, 669 ? 

Or do we wish to dwell on the mystery of the 
Holy Trinity, and to discover the application 
and the importance of that fundamental doctrine ? 
In these hymns not only is the doctrine distinctly 
avowed, but its intimate connexion with all 
inward and experimental religion is made appa- 
rent. Consult, on this subject, Hymns 221, 232, 
237, 239, 251 to 262,473,476, 477, 506, 514, 515, 
517, 532, 562, 564, 647, 649, 654, 671, 737, 745, 
757, 769. 



48 wesleyan hymnolggy; ok a companion 

On the person, character and work, sufferings 
and death of the Bedeemer, his resurrection and 
ascension, his atonement and intercession, his 
kingdom and glory, nothing can be more appro- 
priate or more instructive, than what is found in 
many of these hymns. There is indeed so large 
a proportion of them, in which these topics are 
taken up, that it would be superfluous to refer to 
them individually. Besides those on subjects 
directly connected with the Saviour, (as Hymns 
544 to 555, 600 to 648, 689 to 708,) the intro- 
ductory hymns in Part 1, those describing formal 
and inward religion in Part 2, the penitential 
hymns in Part 3 and in Section 4 of the Supple- 
ment, the hymns for believers in Part 4 and in 
Section 5 of the Supplement, and those for the 
Society in Part 5, are all more or less imbued 
with Christian principles and sentiments. Well, 
indeed, might Charles Wesley have adopted as 
his motto, the first verse of his own beautiful 
paraphrase of Psalm xlv. (Hymn 639) — 

" My heart is full of Christ, and longs 
Its glorious matter to declare ! 
Of him I make my loftier songs, 
I cannot from his praise forbear ; 
My ready tongue makes haste to sing 
The glories of my heavenly King." 

Other men of fine taste and of good poetical 
talent might write elegant hymns or paraphrases 
of Psalms, celebrating the glorious perfections 
of Jehovah, and ascribing to Mm the praise that 
is his due, without the slightest reference to the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 49 

Lord Jesus Christ, or to the work of redemption, 
or to any topic that is distinctively Christian. Of 
this we have proof in the noble paraphrase of that 
most sublime composition, Psalm cxiy.; which con- 
stitutes Hymn 223. But it may well be doubted, 
whether Charles Wesley could by any possibility 
have written a hymn on that plan. Whatever 
portion of the inspired volume he takes as the 
foundation of his sacred verse, he finds Christ 
there, or at least he builds upon it as none but a 
Christian could, so that Christian thoughts and 
feelings and principles are interwoven with the 
whole. While courting the muse, he could no 
more forget his Christianity, than he could forget 
his own human nature and his own individual 
existence. If he is paraphrasing Psalm xlviii. he 
tells us, on verse 14, (Hymn 563) — 

" Sion's God is all our own 
Who on his love rely ; 
We his pardoning love have known, 
And live to Christ, and die." 

On Psalm lxxxiv. verses 4, 5 — describing those 
who are truly blessed or happy, he says — (Hymn 
574)— 

" Whose strength and confidence thou art, 
Who feel thee, Saviour, in their heart, 
The way, the truth, the life of grace." 

When his subject is Psalm lvii. verses 8 to 11, he 
concludes by saying — (Hymn 598) — 

" All earth and heaven their King proclaim ; 
Bow every knee to Jesu's name ! " 
F 



50 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

And when paraphrasing Psalm cxlvi. he thus 
illustrates the fine sayings in verse 8 — (Hymn 

576)— 

" He sets the mournful prisoner free ; 
He bids the blind their Saviour see." 

In these respects Charles Wesley is decidedly 
superior even to Watts. For though that excel- 
lent man avowedly made it his object to adapt 
the Psalms of David to the Christian state and 
worship, there are some of his best paraphrases 
in which there is no direct ajjpearanee of Chris- 
tianity, any more than in the beautiful but 
unevangelical pieces of Addison. See, in proof of 
this, those fine paraphrases, Hymns 224, 225, 540, 
541; all of which deservedly rank high among 
devotional compositions, and yet contain no ex- 
plicit reference to the Eedeemer of the world, or 
to his glorious work. 

On the character, offices, and work of the Holy 
Spirit, we have abundant statements in Hymns 3, 
6, 9, 10, 21, 81, 85 to 89, 96, 97, 107, 121, 131, 134, 
144, 161, 165, 182, 219, 220, 236, 249, 253, 255, 
258, 294, 307, 312, 326, 351, 364, 367, 374, 376, 
377, 390, 391, 408, 413, 418, 423, 435, 438, 456, 
457, 476, 477, 506, 514, 515, 530, 547, 550, 649 to 
658, 659, 769. 

How strikingly are the depravity and guilt, 
the danger and helplessness of fallen man, set 
forth in Hymns 81 to 85, 91 to 94, 99 to 188, 290, 
308 to 311, 382, 388, 647, 659 to 667, 768. 

The glorious provisions of redeeming mercy 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 51 

on behalf of the whole human race are set forth 
in the most encouraging way, and all persons 
without exception are invited to come and par- 
take freely of pardon and salvation, through the 
merit, atonement, and intercession of Christ Jesus. 
On these points the Wesleyan creed has a great 
advantage over that of the Calvinist; for the 
Wesleyan, without any mental reserve, can 
honestly and sincerely invite all his fellow-crea- 
tures, even the vilest and the worst, to come and 
share in the blessings procured through the merit- 
orious undertakings of the Son of God. And of 
this advantage the bard of Methodism has fully 
availed himself; as may be seen in Hymns 1 to 
10, 20, 28 to 35, 37, 39, 86, 118, 129, 142, 162, 
190, 197, 199, 206, 208, 215, 216, 236, 245, 250 to 
253, 257, 365, 378, 435, 438, 439, 440, 444, 445, 
451, 463, 602, 606, 614, 616, 632, 642, 645, 691 to 
694, 696, 700, 703 to 705, 737. 

The duty of repentance is admirably illustrated 
and its necessity shown in Hymns 99 to 181, 
659, 660, 666, 667. These hymns exhibit not 
only that repentance which precedes the pardon 
of sin, and which may be called the repentance 
of the sinner ; but that also which is subsequent 
to our attainment of pardon, and which may be 
called the repentance of the believer. See Hymns 
182 to 188, 274, 282, 290, 661 to 665. 

The great duty of faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ is presented to our view and its necessity 
strongly enforced, in many of the hymns; par- 



52 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

ticulaxly Hymns 1, 8, 13, 20, 28, 30, 36, 83, 85, 
95, 118, 148, 150, 162, 189, 190, 192, 196, 213, 
217, 267, 269, 277, 278, 314, 342, 356, 357, 360, 
380, 401, 410, 439, 521, 545, 558, 616, 622, 660, 
666, 677, 682, 683, 718, 752, 753, 754, 759. 

As to the privileges of true believers — the re- 
moval of guilt, the conscious possession of pardon, 
the witness of God's Spirit bearing witness with 
our spirit, that we axe his children, the love of 
God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
given unto us, the peace, consolation, and joy that 
flow into the soul of the believer, and the glorious 
hope of eternal life which dwells within him — 
these subjects are so admirably elucidated, that 
Wesley's hymns are in these matters above all 
praise, and there are but few hymns of other 
writers, that will bear any comparison with them. 
See, among others, Hymns 1, 3, 5, 9, 12 to 21, 26 
to 34, 37, 40, 57, 58, 65, 6Q, 67 to 79, 189 to 217, 
219, 221, 222, 224, 227 to 231, 246, 249, 252, 261, 
262, 263, 269, 271 to 275, 281 to 285, 287, 292, 
321 to 328, 333, 335 to 339, 418 to 438, 488 to 
500, 505 to 532, 535 to 539, 540 to 543, 556, 557, 
558, 621 to 627, 633, 644, 651, 655 to 658, 669 to 
688, 712 to 715, 733, 734, 735, 761 to 764, 766, 
767. 

The hymns for persons seeking full redemption, 
Hymns 340 to 417, form a large and very import- 
ant class. In them the doctrine of Christian 
perfection or entire holiness is placed in its true 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 53 

light, exhibited in a variety of aspects, established 
on a scriptural foundation, guarded against mis- 
apprehension and abuse, and held forth as the 
undoubted privilege of believers. Scarcely any 
reasonable question can be asked relative to this 
doctrine, "which might not be answered by refer- 
ring to some of these hymns. What is Christian 
perfection, but the fulfilment, in the largest sense, 
of that ancient promise — A new heart will I give 
you, and a new spirit will I put within you ? And 
should it be asked, what kind of a heart is it that 
is here promised, and that we ought to seek; 
where can we find a more appropriate, a more 
comprehensive answer, than in Hymn 341, verses 
3, 4; Hymn 343, verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Hymn 351, 
verses 4, 5, 7; Hymn 391, verses 4, 5? What 
adds greatly to the value of these poetical illus- 
trations of the subject is, that they are so 
thoroughly scriptural : not only every sentiment, 
but eveiy mode of phraseology, and almost every 
single word of any prom in ence, has the direct 
sanction of inspiration. So admirably did this 
Christian poet avail him self of the very words 
which the Holy Ghost teacheth ! What can pos- 
sibly be more full, more expressive, more correct, 
more comprehensive, or more completely scrip- 
tural, than such lines as these ? — 

" A heart resign'd, submissive, meek, 
My great Redeemer's throne ; 
"Where only Christ is heard to speak, 
Where Jesus reigns alone. 
12 



54 wesleyan hymxolotjy; ok a companion 

An humble, lowly, contrite heart, 

Believing, true, and clean ; 
Which neither life nor death can part 

From him that dwells within. 

A heart in every thought renew'd, 

And full of love divine ; 
Ferfect, and right, and pure, and good, 

A copy, Lord, of thine ! 

Let earth no more my heart divide ; 
With Christ may I be crucified, 
To thee with my whole soul aspire ! 

Let all my hallowed heart be love, 
And all my spotless life be praise ! " 

What is Christian perfection, DU t perfect love 
dwelling in the heart and regulating the life; 
supreme love to God, connected with universal 
benevolence to man? And where is this love 
better described, than in Hymn 350, verses 3, 7; 
Hymn 361, verses 1, 4, 5, 6, 11 ; Hymn 389, verses 
1, 3; Hymn 390, verses 1, 2; Hymns 354, 3T3, 
378, 379, 385? 

They who erroneously imagine that the doc- 
trine of entire holiness is unfavourable to humility 
and tends to cherish our natural pride, may find 
an ample refutation of that opinion in Hymns 
302, 369, 381, 393, 398, 425. Here they will 
learn that deep humility is an essential ingre- 
dient of Christian perfection, and that the farther 
we advance in such perfection, the more humble 
we become. 

If this state of religious experience be regarded 
as implying the most eminent degrees of meek- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 55 

ness, patience, gentleness, spirituality, and hea- 
venly-mindedness, where can we find these better 
described than in Hymn 341, verse 4; Hymn 
351, verses 4, 5, 7 ; Hymn 353, verses 4, 5, 6 ; 
Hymn 355, verses 5, 6, 7 ; Hymn 366, verse 1 ; 
Hymn 373, verse 7 ; Hymns 429, 430, 431 ? 

On these great and important topics, Wesley's 
hymns are eminent beyond all others. There 
are many hymns by other writers, which possess 
some degree of excellence, but which inculcate 
low views of Christian privileges, and encourage 
the professed disciple of the Lord Jesus to rest 
contented with a very scanty and defective ex- 
perience of religion. But it is one of the dis- 
tmguishing glories of these hymns, that they 
tend greatly to enlarge and exalt our views as to 
the extent of the salvation of the gospel, and 
that they stimulate and encourage us to seek 
high degrees of holiness. Some expressions, it 
is true, need a little qualification : otherwise 
they would fix the standard of Christian expe- 
rience too high, and would represent the mature 
Christian as raised above those feelings and fears, 
those troubles and sorrows, which are inseparable 
from fallen humanity, and which are by no 
means incompatible with supreme love to God 
and entire holiness. Thus when the poet speaks 
of 

" the glorious liberty 
From sorrow, fear, and sin."— (Hymn 367.) 



56 WESLEYAN HY3IN0L0GY; OB A COMPANION 

When addressing Divine Love, he says — 

" All pain before thy presence flies ; 
Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away, 
Where'er thy healing beams arise." — Hymn 373. 

Or again — 

" From sin and sorrow set me free." — Hymn 379. 
Or— 

" Give me a new, a perfect heart, 
From doubt, and fear, and sorrow free." — Hymn 391. 

In these and such like passages we must bear in 
mind the important distinction between sin and 
fear, between sin and sorrow. We should ever 
recollect that there is a fear and a sorrow en- 
tirely unconnected with sin ; for He who knew 
no sin, had his fears and his sorrows. If these 
expressions be regarded as denoting only such 
fears and sorrows as result from the remains of 
indwelling sin, they may be allowed and vindi- 
cated ; but not otherwise. 

With this qualification, the two sections com- 
prising Hprrns 340 to 417, and 418 to 440, are 
instructive and edifying in the highest degree. 
They exhibit to our view the lengths and breadths, 
the depths and heights of Christian experience, 
the full efficacy of the Redeemer's blood in cleans- 
ing us from all sin, inward as well as outward, 
and the utmost power of the Holy Ghost in the 
believer's heart, destroying inbred sin, and filling 
him with love, with heaven, with God. 

As to practical piety, comprehending all those 
good works by which the Christian is to show 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK, 57 

his faith, and which God has "before ordained 
that we should walk in them, how admirably is 
it set forth and inculcated in Hymns 318 to 328, 
420, 424, 426 to 432, 492, 511, 512, 519 to 522, 
526, 529, 530, 539! 

On the all-important subjects of death, judg- 
ment, and the future state, nothing can be more 
solemn, more appro j)riate, or more impressive, 
than Hymns 41 to 52, .54 to 66, 717, 721, 722, 
728, 729. 

On the awful topic of infernal woe we have 
only one hymn, 80 ; and only half of this hymn 
properly answers to the title, as being descriptive 
of hell ; for in verse 4, the person who utters this 
solemn and affecting soliloquy, as though terrified 
in contemplating the final doom of the impenitent 
sinner, turns aside from such a scene, resolves 
to improve the reprieve granted to him, to accept 
of offered mercy, and to surrender his heart to 
God; and he concludes by expressing a hope 
that he shall live with God in heaven. Everlast- 
ing torment was a subject on which the poet 
could not delight to dwell. 

But in speaking of the blessedness of the 
heavenly world, he is copious and forcible, elo- 
quent and sublime. Among all the delightful 
verses that have been composed on the future 
glory and felicity of the saints of God, where can 
we find any to rival the elegant and impassioned 
productions of Charles Wesley ? On these sub- 
jects, indeed, Watts and Doddridge have written 



58 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

well; the former in Hymns 716, 720, 721, 728 ; 
the latter in Hymn 714; but these, however 
excellent, must yield the palm to Hymns 49 to 
53, 57, 58, 66 to 79, 333, 386, 718, 724 to 727, 
733, 734, 735. 

In short there is no important topic, connected 
either with Christian theology, with religious 
experience, or with practical godliness, which is 
not brought forward more or less in these hymns, 
and presented to our notice in a way eminently 
calculated to make a deep and permanent im- 
pression. And throughout the whole volume 
we find not a single line or expression of a 
licentious tendency; not the least countenance 
either for pharisaic or antinomian delusions. 
Neither they who would trust in their own sup- 
posed merit and good works, nor they who would 
make faith in Christ an excuse for indolence and 
sin, can find any encouragement here. 

Had a person no book whatever in his pos- 
session excepting the Methodist Hymn Book, 
he might unquestionably learn from it the way 
of salvation ; he could not imbibe from it any 
material or ruinous error ; but taking it for his 
guide, he would be led into the way of repent- 
ance towards God, of faith in Jesus Christ, of 
supreme love to God, of universal benevolence to 
man, and of uniform and persevering obedience 
to the divine commands. Thus would he realize 
salvation and holiness here on earth, and thus 
would he be prepared for the glories of paradise 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 09 

and heaven hereafter. This might indeed he 
affirmed with truth of TVatts's hymns, and of 
other evangelical collections besides that of 
Wesley. Between Wesley's collection and any 
other compilation not thoroughly and decidedly 
evangelical, no comparison will here be made ; 
the absence of evangelical sentiment being an 
unpardonable defect. But in many volumes, 
which in this respect are unobjectionable, we 
find the standard of Christian experience fixed 
far too low ; a very meagre and unsatisfactory 
state in religious matters is held out as safe and 
secure, and a high degree of holiness, or an entire 
salvation from sin, is represented as unattainable 
and unnecessary. In one of Cowper's hymns 
we have the following verse, — 

" But though the poison lurks within, 
Hope bids me still with patience wait. 
Till death shall set me free from sin, 
Free from the only thing I hate." 

So then, according to this scheme, there is not 
sufficient efficacy in the blood of Christ to cleanse 
us from all sin, nor is the power of the Holy 
Ghost in the believer's heart sufficient to destroy 
the inward foe : but what is too difficult for the 
Almighty Saviour and for the Eternal Spirit, is 
to be accomplished by death. How discouraging, 
how injurious is this opinion ! and how much at 
variance with those scriptural declarations, in 
which the Christian believer is represented as 
free from sin, as dead unto sin, as free from the 



00 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OH A COMPANION 

law of sin and death, as having the body of sin 
destroyed. To refer to another hymn, which was 
composed by that good and useful man, the Eev. 
John Newton, and winch with many is a great 
favourite. 

" 'Tis a point I long to know ; 
Oft it causes anxious thought ; 
Do I love the Lord, or no ? 
Am I his, or am I not ? " 

Now what kind of religious experience is it that 
is described in this hymn ? It is not adapted 
to the state of a penitent sinner, who feels the 
wrath of God abiding on him, but is earnestly 
seeking redemption in the blood of Christ, the 
forgiveness of all his sin. Such a person knows 
that as yet he does not love God ; for he is 
under the influence of guilty and tormenting 
fear. He know r s that he is not yet a child of 
God, through faith in the Lord Jesus. These 
blessings he is seeking, but has not yet obtained. 
On the other hand, this hymn is not adapted to 
the true believer ; for such an one has the love 
of God shed abroad in his heart, and has the 
witness of the Spirit within, bearing witness with 
his spirit, that he is a child of God. Nor is it 
suitable to the careless and impenitent sinner ; 
for of his state surely no reasonable doubt can 
be entertained. He does not love God ; for his 
carnal mind is enmity against God ; he is not a 
child of God; for he that committeth sin is of 
the devil. Then what kind of persons are they 
whose case is here described ? If Christians at 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 61 

all, they must be Christians of a very low order ; 
persons who have not yet reached the character 
of even babes in Christ ; persons in whom sin 
and grace are still striving for the ascendency, 
and it is yet undecided which will prevail ; per- 
sons who have some degree of divine light, but 
have not followed the Saviour fully. They have 
sustained spiritual loss, and are to be regarded 
as backsliders in heart, if not as open and entire 
apostates. Their state may correspond with what 
we find in Hymns 663, 664, 652 verse 2, and 
with the section for persons convinced of back- 
shding, Hymns 168 to 182 \ but we should be 
aware that such a state is neither comfortable 
nor safe ; and they to whom it actually belongs 
should be urged not to rest satisfied with it, but 
to strive and pray that they may speedily emerge 
out of it, and rise into a better and happier ex- 
perience. Whereas there is in these hymns every- 
thing that is calculated to lead us onwards into 
high degrees of holiness, wisdom, and usefulness 
on earth, and thus to prepare us for exalted 
mansions in the abodes of heavenly bliss. 

The Wesleyan hymns are also free from those 
mystical sentiments which obscure the glory 
and diminish the efficacy of the gospel of Christ ; 
which would teach that a mournful and melan- 
choly experience is preferable to comfort and joy, 
and that we must of necessity go on sorrowing 
and groaning all our days, till death comes to 
our release. These opinions indeed were adopted 



62 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGYj OR A COMPANION 

by the two brothers, at the commencement of 
their religious career, but were abandoned by 
both, when, in 1738, they were brought into 
the enjoyment of Christian liberty. Charles 
Wesley, however, appears to have again imbibed 
somewhat that was mystical, and it is to be met 
with occasionally in some of Iris later composi- 
tions. But little or nothing of that kind is to 
be found in the present Hymn Book. It contains 
indeed one fine hymn of a very melancholy cast ; 
probably the most melancholy in the whole 
collection — (Hymn 154.) In verse 1 the person 
speaking says of himself, as the hymn originally 
stood — 

" Doubtful, and insecure of bliss ; 
Since death alone confirms me his." 

But John Wesley, in adopting the hymn into his 
collection, was careful to substitute faith for 
death, and this gives the whole an evangelical 
character. And here we discover one very ma- 
terial point of difference between the true system 
of the gospel, and those mystical or pharisaical 
systems which diverge from it more or less. 
What the one attributes to death, the other 
expects to be accomplished through faith in the 
almighty Eedeemer. What the one system puts 
off to a future and undefined period, the other 
teaches us to expect now, at once. Burdens 
which, according to one scheme, we must continue 
to bear as long as we live, may, according to the 
other, be promptly removed. It is not death, but 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 63 

faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that effects the 
wonderful change. 

These hymns ernhodv a complete system of 
evangelical theology, wholly free from Calvinistic 
alloy ; and to this circumstance, as well as to the 
superior poetical abilities of Charles Wesley, 
they are mainly indebted for their excellence. - 
The more prominent the peculiar opinions of 
Calvin are in any religious compositions, whether 
in prose or verse, the less are such compositions 
calculated to make men holy, happy, and useful ; 
and those writings from which such peculiar 
opinions are totally excluded, are likely to answer 
these valuable purposes in the highest degree, 



CHAPTER IV. 

EXCELLENCE OF THE HYMNS IN LANGUAGE, AND AS 

POETICAL COMPOSITIONS ALTERATIONS MADE BY 

VARIOUS COMPILERS, IN WESLEY'S HYMNS 

SPECIMENS OF TRUE SUBLIMITY. 

Here we may again advert to the language of 
the venerable founder of Methodism, in the 
Preface to his Hymn Book. The excellence of 
the poetry he there describes, first, negatively, 
showing what is not to be found in it ; and then, 
positively, showing what it does contain and 
exhibit. Among the former he mentions doggrel 
— botches — patches — -feeble expletives — that which 
is turgid and bombastic — that which is low and 
creeping — cant expressions — words without mean- 
ing. It would be easy to exemplify each of these 
defects, by reference to Hymn Books which have 
been published at various times, and some of 
which are still extant. Mr. Wesley, in his Preface 
to the " Pocket Hymn Book" which he published 
in 1787, mentions two hymns, which had become 
very popular with certain persons — one beginning 
" The despised Nazarene," 

the other, 

" A Christ I have ; what a Christ have I ! " 



WESLKYAN HY3IX0L0GY. 65 

And there are other hymns which might fairly 
be classed with these two : but let all such be 
consigned to merited oblivion. 

There are several other hymns, which, although 
they never found a place in the general collection 
in use among the Methodists, have at various 
times obtained a partial and temporary popu- 
larity in many congregations. Among these 
candidates for public favour may be mentioned 
the following — 

" Haste again, ye days of grace." 

" Hark ! how the gospel trumpet sounds !" 

" Come, angels ! seize your harps of gold." 

" Our souls by love together knit." 

" The voice of free grace Cries, Escape to the mountain." 

It may be admitted that these and some others 
of the same kind are generally unexceptionable 
in sentiment, and tolerable as to then poetical 
character ; quite equal, indeed, to many that have 
been freely adopted in modern compilations : 
but they are decidedly below the rank of the 
Wesleyan hymns. It is greatly to be desired that 
Christian congregations should, in these matters, 
cultivate a correct and delicate taste. Let them 
uniformly encourage that chaste and simple, yet 
solemn and dignified style of composition, which 
best accords with the worship of the ever-blessed 
God — with the noblest employment of redeemed 
and immortal creatures. 

It will be a more agreeable task to prove 
that this volume exhibits (to employ again Mr. 
o 2 



66 wesleyax hymxology; or a companion 

Wesley's language in the preface) the purity, the 
strength, and the elegance of the English language, 
together with the utmost simplicity and plainness, 
suited to every capacity ; and not only so, but also 
the true spirit of poetry, such as cannot he acquired 
by art and labour, but must be the gift of nature. 

One excellence in Charles Wesley's poetry is, 
that he has never in any instance neglected the 
rhyme in the third line of a stanza, but has 
always made the third line to rhyme either with 
the first or with the fourth. Nowhere do we 
find in any of his hymns a line that does not 
rhyme with some other line. Though some 
eminent writers of a former day produced hymns 
on this plan, and hymns of some excellence, 
their practice is not to be commended ; and the 
partial absence of rhyme in a hymn is in most 
cases an indication either of inferior talent, or 
of slovenly and careless composition. Some of 
Charles Wesley's rhymes, it is true, are not pure 
and perfect ; so that a delicate ear is not satisfied 
with them : but in no single instance has he 
entirely neglected the rhyme. When the supple- 
ment to the Wesley an Hymn Book was under 
consideration, it was strongly recommended by 
some, and among others by the writer of these 
remarks, that no hymn should be admitted, in 
which the rhyming of the first and third lines 
was neglected. But it was observed, in reply to 
this recommendation, that some hymns of that 
description had been inserted by Mr. Wesley in 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 67 

the Morning Hymn Book, prepared and published 
by him for the London congregations : and on 
this ground it was finally resolved to admit a few. 
Perhaps it is owing to this circumstance, that 
the supplement — excellent as many of the hymns 
unquestionably are — is yet, as a whole, inferior 
to the old hymn book. That it contains some 
hymns, which sink below the rank of the Wesley 
poetry, is admitted in the Advertisement prefixed 
to the supplement, and bearing date November 9, 
1830. Were all those hymns expunged, there are 
scarcely more than two, whose loss could be justly 
regretted. These two are Hymns 673,674; in 
some stanzas of which, not in all, the rhyme is 
defective ; but the sentiments are so admirable 
and the diction is so appropriate and so striking, 
that almost every one would be sorry to lose them. 
But if Hymns 569, 592, 595, 628, 641, 647, 660, 
672, 685, 701, 743, 751, 765, 769, were excluded, 
then places might easily be supplied by other 
hymns, fully equal to them in sentiment, and 
superior in poetical merit. 

Another advantage that we have in Wesley's 
hymns is, that they contain so large a variety of 
metres, considerably more than twenty ; and by 
this variety they are the better adapted to all 
the diversified purposes to which there is any 
occasion to apply them. Some are as solemn as 
the grave : as solemn as the awful subjects of 
death and eternity require. Others are not only 
cheerful, but .joyous and triumphant ; so that 



68 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

in making them our own, we assimilate ourselves 
to the glorified companies in the heavenly world. 
And yet the good taste and sound judgment of 
John Wesley would not allow him to insert in 
his collection a specimen of every metre in which 
his brother had written. Among Charles Wesley's 
hymns are several of this peculiar metre — 

" O how sweet it is to languish 
For our God Till his blood 
Eases all our anguish." 

" Blest we are in expectation 
Of the bliss Power and peace 
Pardon and salvation." 

This stanza, comprising only four lines, the first 
of eight syllables, the second and third each 
three, and the fourth six syllables, is deficient 
in dignity and solemnity. Two lines out of four 
being so very short, only three syllables each, 
the recurrence of the rhyme after so " very small 
an interval gives the whole too much of a jingling 
sound, and renders the metre decidedly ineligible. 
Hence all those hymns were judiciously excluded 
from the general Hymn Book. 

Some modern hymns are objectionable on this 
ground. One inserted in various collections, 
begins thus— 

" Ah ! I shall soon be dying" 

where the shortness of the line, the uncommon- 
ness of the metre, and the double rhyme at the 
end, all contribute to make it unsuitable for so 
solemn a subject. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK, 69 

Tlie chasteness and elegance of diction observ- 
able in Wesley's hymns, distinguish them from 
many others. The ajDplication of the term dear 
to the Lord Jesus Christ has been justly objected 
to, as savouring of irreverence, as intimating too 
high a degree of familiarity, as being too common, 
too low, too colloquial to be applied to a Being of 
such pre-eminent dignity, and as having no sanc- 
tion at all in the language of Holy Scrij3ture. 
The general Hymn Book does indeed furnish 
some instances of the use of this word ; for we 
have such lines as the following — 

" O thou dear, suffering Son of God." 

" That dear, disfigured face." 

" Jesus, dear, redeeming Lord." 

" The dear, triumphant Lamb." 

"To thy dear Piedeemer's breast." 

But with a few exceptions, the word dear is 
scarcely to be found even in the most fervent 
and impassioned hymns of Charles Wesley. With 
all the depth and force of feeling which experi- 
mental religion cherishes, with all the sentiments 
of admiration, gratitude, and love with which 
we ought to be animated towards the Eedeemer, 
there should ever be a due mixture of reverence 
and solemnity ; and the impress of this ought to 
be on all our devotional exercises. Now in this 
poetry, notwithstanding the strong, bold, and 
even startling expressions which sometimes occur, 
such as — 



70 WESLEYAX HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

" To urge our God-commanding plea." 
" Bless me ; for I will prevail" — 

there is nothing low, nothing vulgar, nothing 
offensive to correct judgment and good taste, 
nothing of that familiar and colloquial style, 
which we may employ with our fellow-creatures, 
but which is so unbecoming in our intercoiuse 
with the glorious Creator. Whereas in other 
hymns not only is the word dear of very frequent 
occurrence in such expressions as Dear Lord, 
Dear Saviour, Dear Redeemer, Dear Jesus ; but 
other modes of speech are adopted, which are 
still stronger, more remote from the phraseology 
of Scripture, and therefore more objectionable. 
The following are specimens — 

"To embrace my dearest Lord." 

" Bless'd be the Lamb, my dearest Lord." 

(l There the dear Man, my Saviour, sits." 

11 Dear God, let all my hours be thine." 

" Dear, glorious Man, that died for me." 

In a German Hymn Book, published at Leipsig 
in 1763, and used among the Moravians, are the 
following among many similar expressions— 

Ich kiisse dich, inein Seelen Freund — 

" I kiss thee, my soul's Friend." 

Ach kiisse mich, mein Brautigam — 

" Ah ! kiss me, my Bridegroom." 

O lieber Gott, dich loben wir — 

" O dear God, we praise thee." 

Auf dich, mein lieber Gott, ich traue — 

" In thee, my dear God, I trust." 

Komm, mein Liebster, lasz dich kiissen— 

" Come, my dearest, let me kiss thee.*' 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 71 

Besides, Liebster Vater — Liebster Heiland — 
Liebster G-ott — " Dearest Father " — " Dearest 
Saviour " — " Dearest God" — and the like. 
There are three instances in which the kiss is 
introduced by Charles Wesley ; but in two of these 
it is only hissing the feet of the Eedeemer. The 
first is founded on the interesting narrative of the 
pardoned sinner, who did actually testify her, 
gratitude to the Saviour by kissing his feet, wash- 
ing them with her tears, and wiping them with 
the hairs of her head — Hymn 33, v. 4.^— 

" O let me kiss thy bleeding feet, 
And bathe and wash them with my tears." 

The second occurs in a very fine hymn, (625,) 
which shows on what occasions, and under what 
circumstances, Christ was seen of angels. Of 
those holy and exalted creatures, the poet states, 
in his strong and figurative language, that when 
they saw the Redeemer, after his humiliation and 
sufferings on earth, return into the heavenly 
world, they— 

" fell, and kiss'd his bleeding feet." 

But all this differs very widely from the ordinary 
way in which one relative or friend kisses another, 
and strongly intimates the great inferiority of 
human, and even of angelic beings, to Him who 
is thus saluted. The other instance is in verse 6 
of Hymn 229 — a beautiful birth-day hymn — 

" Like Moses to thyself convey, 
And kiss my raptured soul away." 



72 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

This bold and singular idea is founded on a 
Jewish tradition, relative to the death of that 
eminent man. We read (Deut. xxxiv. 5) that 
Moses died according to the word of the Lord, or 
literally, from the Hebrew, at the mouth of Jeho- 
vah ; which by some of the Jewish rabbins is 
interpreted as meaning, that God drew the soul 
or spirit of Moses out of his body with a kiss. 

Thus these hymns tend to raise us from that 
which, is low and childish to that which is manly 
and elevated; they are calculated not only to 
warm our devotions, but to improve and refine 
our thoughts and our expressions. 

While speaking of the purity of the language 
employed in the Wesleyan hymns, a few words 
may be said relative to some expressions and 
modes of speech, which in Mr. Wesley's day were 
scarcely known or allowed to be inaccurate, but 
which are now universally condemned and avoid- 
ed by good writers and speakers. Such is the use 
v of the imperfect tense of certain verbs instead of 
the participle, or of the participle instead of the 
imperfect tense. Thus in the lines — 

ft And glory end what grace begun."— Hymns 196, 236. 
" When he first the work begun." — Hymn 218. 

instead of the participle begun, we ought to have 
the imperfect tense began.. 

In the lines— 

" Thou my pain, my curse hast took."— Hymn 27. 
" The Sun of righteousness on me hath rose," &c. — Hymn 141. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 73 

11 Who my cause hath undertook." — Hymn 243 
" But hast thou finally forsook." — Hymn 451. 

instead of the imperfect tenses, took, rose, under 
took, and forsook, the participles taken, risen, 
undertaken, and forsaken are required. 
The last line of Hymn 427 originally stood thus — 

" Still be wrote upon our heart," 

which in all the late editions has very properly 
been altered thus — 

" Still be written on our heart." 

At the close of verse 1 of that very fine and noble 
composition, Hymn 226, the singular verb rings 
is employed, as though it agreed exclusively with 
the noun palace — 

" And heaven's high palace rings." 

Whereas there are three other nominatives, all 
plurals, preceding that verb — rocks, hills, seas — 
and the verb ought unquestionably to be plural — 
ring. 

In verse 5 of Hymn 9, we have the following 
lines — 

" The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 
Is ready, with their shining host." 

Now although Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are 
one God, they are not one person ; and the use of 
a singular verb after two or three of the persons 
of the Godhead is not sanctioned by the phrase- 
ology of the New Testament. We read — " these 
three are one" — " these three agree in one" — " I 

H 



74 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OK A COMPANION 

and my Father are one" — " My Father will love 
him, and tee trill come unto him, and make our 
abode with him." In all these instances we have 
plural verbs, and propriety of language requires 
us to say in this case — 

"The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 
Are ready." 

Besides, in the very same line, the poet employs 
the plural pronoun their. If it be right to speak 
of the three Divine persons in the singular num- 
ber, let the singular pronoun his be employed, 
and let us read — 

" Is ready, with his shining host;" 

but to use a singular verb, and then a plural pro- 
noun in the same line, and with precisely the 
same reference, is certainly indefensible. 

These, however, are trivial blemishes, and are 
not at all to be wondered at ; for errors in the use 
of certain verbs and participles, and violations of 
some of the rules of syntax, are found in the best 
writers of that day. The peculiarities and niceties 
of oiu language had not then been minutely in- 
vestigated, or subjected to grammatical control ; 
and no work existed, that was worthy of the name 
of an English Grammar. The first edition of 
Lindley Murray's Grammar did not appear till 
some years after Mr. Wesley's death. 

While Mr. Wesley cautioned those who might 
be disposed to reprint his brother's or his own 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. /0 

hymns against all attempts to mend them, it must 
be granted that he made several alterations in 
those hymns which he adopted from others. It 
may appear unreasonable, that he should deny to 
others that liberty in reference to his own hymns, 
which he unquestionably took with those of others. 
Let it be observed, however, that the compositions 
of other writers embodied in the Hymn Book, as 
originally published, were but a very small pro- 
portion of the whole ; being only seven hymns 
out of five hundred and thirty-one. And among 
all those, who in their collections have made free 
with Wesley's hymns, perhaps there has not been 
one, with the exception of Montgomery, whose 
poetical taste and judgment could be considered 
anything like on a par with those of John Wesley. 
If we compare the originals with the hymns as 
altered in the Wesleyan collection, we shall find 
that the alterations do not affect the sentiment, 
but merely make the language more correct, more 
chaste, more elegant, more poetical ; and scarcely 
any one will hesitate to admit, that the alteration 
is a decided improvement. 

Watts's Original — 

" Nations, attend before his throne. 
With solemn fear, with sacred joy." 

Altered by Wesley— 

" Before Jehovah's awful throne, 
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy." 



76 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 
Watts — 

" The God that rules on high, 
And thunders when he please, 

That rides upon the stormy sky, 
And manages the seas." 

Altered by Wesley — 

" The God that rules on high, 
That all the earth surveys, 

That rides upon the stormy sky, 
And calms the roaring seas." 

Watts— 

" While Jesus shows his heart is mine, 
And whispers I am his." 

Altered by Wesley — 

11 If Jesus shows his mercy mine, 
And whispers I am his." 



Watts — 



" Run up with joy the shining way, 
To embrace my dearest Lord." 

Altered by Wesley — 

" Run up with joy the shining way, 
To see and praise my Lord." 

Watts— 

" T'll praise my Maker with my breath." 
Altered by Wesley — 

11 I'll praise my Maker while I've breath." 

Watts — 

" The Lord hath eyes to give the blind." 

Altered by Wesley — 

" The Lord pours eye-sight on the blind." 



to the wesleyan hymn book. 77 

Watts — 

" He dies, the heavenly Lover dies ; 
The tidings strike a doleful sound 
On my poor heart-strings : deep he lies 
In the cold caverns of the ground." 

Altered by Wesley — 

" He dies, the Friend of sinners dies ! 
Lo ! Salem's daughters weep around ! 
A solemn darkness veils the skies ; 
A sudden trembling shakes the ground." 



Watts- 



" One day amidst the place 
Where my dear God hath been." 



Altered by Wesley — 

M One day amidst the place 
Where thou, my Lord, hast been." 

But the alterations, made by many compilers and 
editors in the Wesley an hymns, often affect the 
sense materially, without improving the poetry. 
They tend to obscure or to keep out of view some 
great scriptural truth ; such as the unlimited 
provisions of the gospel, the universality of the 
atonement effected by Jesus Christ, or the full 
extent of the salvation which is offered to every 
true believer. Thus in Hymn 606, that line — 

" Come, thou universal Saviour" — 

is altered by some thus — 

" Come, thou dear, exalted Saviour"— 

by some — 

" Come, thou Advocate and Saviour" — 
H 2 



78 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OK A COMPANION 

by others — 

" Come, thou kind and tender Saviour." 

In Hymn 645 — 

" Extol the Lamb of God, 
The all-atoning Lamb." 

the second line is altered into " The sin-atoning 
Lamb " — which is tautology ; for there is nothing 
but sin, that needs an atonement ; no tiling but 
sin, for which an atonement can be made. If 
the Lord Jesus be an atoning Lamb, to state that 
he is a Lamb atoning for sin, is a mere truism ; 
but whether that atonement is made for some or 
for all, is a question of the deepest importance ; 
which our poet decides agreeably to the positive 
declarations of Holy Scripture, by calling Christ 
the all-atoning Lamb, that is, the Lamb who has 
atoned for all. 

In Hymn 34, verse 1 — 

11 To adore the all-atoning Lamb, 
And bless the sound of Jesu's name" — 

is thus altered — 

" To fall before the atoning Lamb, 
And praise the blessed Jesu's name." 

Verses 6, 7, which so nobly and so boldly state 
the redemption of all mankind, have been thus 
altered, to meet the views of the disciples of 
Calvin — 

11 O unexampled love ! O rich, redeeming grace ! 
How swiftly didst thou move To save a fallen race ! 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 7VJ 

How shall we make the tidings known 
Of what thy love, thy grace has done ? " 
" O for a trumpet-voice On all the world to call ! 
To bid their hearts rejoice In him who died for all ! 
Let each the joyful news proclaim, 
Till every sinner hears his name." 

Wesley, in teaching us to pray for the conversion 
of the Jews, Hymn 451, puts these words into our 
mouths — they are an address to the Eedeemer — 

" Receive thy ancient people home ; 
That, quickened by thy dying love, 
The world may their reception find, 
Life from the dead for all mankind." 

But many persons, unable or unwilling to con- 
template the glorious objects jnesented to us in 
the inspired volume — the salvation of all Israel, 
the gathering in of the fulness of the Gentiles, 
and the universal establishment of Christianity — 
have softened down the last two lines, thus — 

11 The world may their reception view, 
And shout to God the glory due." 

Many persons, averse to the scriptural doctrine 
of entire sanctincation, if they venture to adopt 
any hymn from " Section 7 — For those who are 
seeking full redemption," are careful to expunge 
or alter every expression not in accordance with 
then own opinions. It is almost ludicrous to 
observe the great care with which some of them 
avoid the scriptural word perfect. When Wesley 
says, Hymn 385 — 

" Pray and praise thee, without ceasing, 
Glory in thy perfect love :" — 



80 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

the last line at all events must be altered. In 
some books it appears thus — 

u Glory in thy precious love :" 

in others — 

" Triumph in redeeming love." 

In Hymn 404, verse 4, as though the earnest 
wish there expressed to go up at once, now, this 
moment, and enter into that blessed state of 
Christian experience were improper and extrava- 
gant, it is exchanged for the enquiry — " when 
shall it be ?" and thus our hopes are deferred to 
some future and indefinite period. The verse 
appears in the following form — 

" O when shall we at once go up, 
No longer this side Jordan stop ; 

But the good land possess ? 
When shall we end our lingering years, 
Our sorrows, sins, and doubts, and fears, 

A howling wilderness V* 

And in verse 5, as though it were too much to 
pray with our poet — 

" Now, O my Joshua, hring me in ! 

Cast out thy foes ; the inbred sin, 

k The carnal mind remove" — 

as though, to have the inbred sin and the carnal 
mind removed would be a calamity rather than a 
blessing, something to be deprecated rather than 
sought after, it is thus altered — 

" Saviour divine ! O bring us in, 
Display thy grace, forgive our sin, 
Our unbelief remove." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 81 

In Hymn 843, verse 1, as though it were an 
unwarrantable thing to pray for 

" A heart that always feels thy blood, 
So freely spilt for me" — 

the expression is thus softened and lowered— 

11 A heart that's sprinkled with the blood 
So freely shed for me." 

Hymn 189, verse 3, is thus altered, and assuredly 
not for the better — 

"O Saviour! Refuge! Hiding-place; 
My sins are cancell'd all by thee ; 
Cover'd is my unrighteousness ; 
No spot of guilt remains on me; 
Thy blood divine, through earth and skies, 
Mercy, free, boundless mercy cries." 

In Hymn 59, verse 3, some persons disliking 
the expression the brink of fate, as though it 
necessarily implied something unscriptural and 
heathenish, have altered the last three lines, and 
have thus deprived them of a striking and im- 
pressive thought. 
Some have altered them thus,— 

" Give me to feel their solemn weight, 
And save me, ere it be too late ; 
Wake me to righteousness." 

And others, thus — 

" Give us to feel their solemn weight, 
To tremble at our guilty state, 
And wake to righteousness." 

By the brink of fate our poet evidently means 



82 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

the brink of death, the brink of eternity, the 
brink of ruin; and the idea of a person trembling 
under the full conviction that he is in that 
awful position, is terribly grand, and well accords 
with the character of the whole hymn. 

The above may serve as specimens of the 
alterations to which many of the Yv r esleyan 
hymns have been subjected; and as proofs that 
few or none of those alterations have been real 
improvements. 

Every competent judge will, it is believed, 
concur in the opinion, that we have in Wesley's 
hymns many passages that are not only beautiful 
and elegant, but grand and sublime — passages 
that unquestionably indicate the hand of a 
master, and exhibit the true spirit of poetry. 
Who can deny that this is the case in Hymn 21, 
where we have set before us in striking contrast, 
first the estimate formed by the ungodly of the 
circumstances and prospects of true Christians ; 
then, their real character and condition ? Ac- 
cording to the views of the ungodly, their life is 
madness and misery — their death inglorious and 
unlamented — they are wretched, obscure, foolish, 
feeble, poor, contemptible. Now what is the 
true state of the case ? These very persons are 
in reality priests and kings — they have unsearch- 
able riches and overflowing pleasures — they rejoice 
evermore — Angels are their servants and their 
guardians — Jesus is their Friend — Jehovah is 
their Father — they are already invested with 



TO THE WESLETAM HYMN BOOK. 83 

robes of dignity, and they anticipate a crown 
that shall never fade away. Here we have true 
grandeur, real nobility, durable riches, endless 
blessedness; and all this is the portion of the 
saints of God. 

How unspeakably solemn and sublime are the 
ideas presented to us in Hynrns 60, 61, 62, 63, 
64 ! Hymn 60 has been justly characterised as 
in " a strain more than human." It is like the 
language of one who was himself realizing the 
infinitely solemn and momentous scenes therein 
referred to ; the conflagration of the present 
mundane system, the appearance of new heavens 
and a new earth, and the everlasting exaltation 
and glory of the righteous. Hymn 61 is, both in 
sentiment and in expression, a striking specimen 
of the true subline. " It begins (says Mr. Mont- 
gomery) with a note abrupt and awakening, like 
the sound of the last trumpet. This is altogether 
one of the most daring and victorious nights of 
our author." Several of the sentiments and of 
the expressions in this admirable hymn are taken 
from a passage in Young's Night Thoughts, Night 
vi. line 744, &c. — 

" If so decreed, the Almighty will be done, 
Let earth dissolve, yon ponderous orbs descend, 
And grind us into dust. The soul is safe, 
The man emerges ; mounts above the wreck, 
As towering flame from Nature's funeral pyre ; 
O'er devastation, as a gainer, smiles ; 
His charter, his inviolable rights, 
Well pleased to learn from thunder's impotence, 
Death's pointless darts, and Hell's defeated storms." 



84 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 
With this compare the language of our poet — 

" Stand the omnipotent decree ! 
Jehovah's will be done!" &c. — 

and we shall find Young greatly improved by 
Wesley. What the former applies indefinitely 
or generally to man, the latter applies exclusively 
to the righteous man, whose flesh rests in hope, 
waiting for the summons of Iris Redeemer ; and 
thus all these inimitably noble and sublime con- 
ceptions are thrown into an evangelical mould. 
Hymns 63, 64 are very similar in sentiment, 
and exquisite in diction ; and with their three 
predecessors, they undoubtedly belong to the 
highest order of sacred poetry. 

Hymn 74 is noble, spirited, and impassioned. 
Were ever longings for immortality more justly 
or more strikingly expressed than in this hymn ? 
Were ever the thoughts and feelings of an in- 
spired apostle — his confidence, his groans, his 
earnest desires — more faithfully transfused into 
an uninspired composition ? 

<( O were we entered there, 

To perfect heaven restored ! 
O were we all caught up to share 

The triumph of our Lord !" 

" For this in faith we call, 

For this we weep and pray ; 
O might the tabernacle fall ! 

O might we 'scape away !" 

Here we have the very soul and spirit of St. Paul, 
as it were, embodied and presented to our view. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 85 

Head that fine passage, 2 Corinthians v. 1 to 9 — 
and then turn to this unrivalled hyinn, as an 
appropriate illustration of the apostle's language. 
Hymns 140, 141 exhibit a high degree of 
poetical talent, consecrated to the noblest purpose. 
The merit of these two hymns is universally 
acknowledged. Mr. John Wesley, in his brief 
notice of his brother's death, observed — " His 
least praise was, his talent for poetry ; although 
Dr. Watts did not scruple to say, that that single 
poem, Wrestling Jacob, was worth all the verses 
he himself had written." " Among Charles 
Wesley's highest achievements (says Mr. Mont- 
gomery) may be recorded this hymn, in which, 
with consummate art, he has carried on the action 
of a lyrical drarna ; every turn in the conflict with 
the mysterious being, against whom he wrestles 
all night, being marked with precision by the 
varying language of the speaker, accompanied 
by intense, increasing interest, till the rapturous 
moment of discovery, when he prevails, and 
exclaims — I know thee, Saviour, who thou art" dtc. 
The history of Jacob wrestling with the Angel is 
here most beautifully illustrated ; every minute 
circumstance of the narrative is seized on by the 
poet, and applied to the best advantage; the 
whole is thrown into a dramatic form, and painted 
in the most vivid colours : and to penitent 
sinners, who are earnestly seeking the salvation 
of God, it conveys the strongest encouragement. 
It shows them that if they persevere in wrestling, 



86 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOOY. 

striving, praying, they will infallibly succeed. 
He whose nature and whose name is Love, will 
come to their relief, and manifest his mercy to 
their souls. 

The following hymns, among others, may be 
specially referred to, as possessing very superior 
poetical merit, and as exhibiting, more or less, 
all that is noble and excellent, dignified and 
sublime, both in thought and in diction : — 

Hymns 73, 168, 203, 204, 220, 228, 235, 240, 
241, 262, 272, 277, 287, 307, 314, 315, 325, 328, 
333, 348, 349, 368, 385, 386, 407, 430, 431, 488, 
491, 494, 499, 513, 535, 536, 537, 538, 552, 554, 
556, 607, 613, 625, 629, 630, 633, 669, 670, 671, 
689, 690, 703, 724, 725, 733, 734, 735, 761, 762. 

Remarks on some of these hymns will be found 
in the subsequent part of this volume. 



CHAPTER V, 

REMARKS, CRITICAL, EXPLANATORY, AND CAUTIONARY 
ON SEVERAL OF THE HYMNS. 

It is not the writer's design to offer anything 
like a regular and complete comment on all the 
hymns in the Wesleyan collection. To do this 
would swell the present volume to an incon- 
venient size, and would probably divert the 
reader's attention too much from the book itself. 
But in passing through this entire mass of sacred 
poetry, we shall find that there are some hymns 
that deserve special notice, on account of 
particular circumstances connected with their 
original composition ; some, on the ground of 
peculiar excellence, either of sentiment or of lan- 
guage; some, as containing very strong or singular 
expressions, which require to be explained and 
qualified; and some, as containing passages which, 
if used at all, must be used with very great 
caution, and which ought never to be employed 
for general purposes or in promiscuous assemblies. 

The hymns of the first three sections, exhorting 
sinners, or describing the pleasantness of religion 
and the goodness of God, abound in earnest per- 



be wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

suasives and affectionate invitations. Here the 
poet is careful to give due prominence to that 
article of the Wesleyan creed, that Jesus Christ 
died for all, and that all may be saved through 
him. On this topic he evidently delights to 
dwell ; and nothing will satisfy him short of 
communicating to the whole human race the joy- 
ful tidings, that through Christ salvation is pro- 
vided for all, and offered to all. The poet's mind 
was expanded and ennobled by his creed : and to 
this circumstance we owe some of the sweetest and 
most heavenly strains that he ever poured forth. 

Hymn 1 — " O for a thousand tongues to sing." 

This is part of a hymn, written originally for the 
anniversary day of ones conversion. It was pro- 
hably conrposed about May, 1739, just a year 
after the period when the two brothers were first 
hr ought into the enjoyment of Christian liberty, 
and appeared in the volume entitled " Hymns 
and Sacred Poems" — the first edition of which 
was published in 1739. The hymn began thus— 

1 " Glory to God, and praise, and love 

Be ever, ever given, 
By saints below, and saints above, 
The church in earth and heaven. 

2 On this glad day the glorious Sun 

Of righteousness arose ; 

On my benighted soul he shone, 

And fill'd it with repose. 

3 Sudden expired the legal strife ; 

'Twas then I ceas'd to grieve; 
My second, real, living life 
I then began to live. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. b\3 

4 Then with my heart I first believ'd, 
Believ'd with faith divine : 
Power with the Holy Ghost receiv'd 
To call the Saviour mine." 

The original hymn extended to eighteen verses ; 
the first verse in our present hymn hook being 
the seventh. The ten verses which we now have 
are decidedly the choicest portion of the whole, 
and the hest adapted for general purposes ; and 
they form an admirable introductory hymn. 

Hymns 2 and 9 are beautiful illustrations and 
applications of that language in one of our 
Saviour's parables — Come ; for all tilings are now 
ready. The invitation is not only given in general 
terms, but is urged on the attention of every in- 
dividual sinner — 

" Come, all the world ; come, sinner, thou ! " 

and every one is intreated to accept of the benefits 
of the gospel at once, without any delay — 

" This is the time ; no more delay" — 
" Come in, this moment, at his call." 

In Hymn 9, the statement — all things are now 
ready — is expanded in a most interesting and 
dehghtful way. We are taught that the Father, 
the Son, the Holy Ghost, all are ready to wel- 
come the returning sinner — the holy angels are 
ready to rejoice over him — all the blessings of 
salvation are ready prepared for his acceptance. 
Then in verses 6 to 10 these blessings are par- 
ticularly specified, in strains of exquisite beauty 
i2 



90 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

and pathos. What a depth of meaning, what 
propriety, what truth is there in such lines as 
these — 

" The tears, that tell your sins forgiven ; 
The sighs, that waft your souls to heaven." 

And then the poet most appropriately closes the 
whole, with — 

" The speechless awe that dares not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love." 

Thus he leaves the pardoned sinner, happy in 
God his Saviour, and so overwhelmed with gra- 
titude, astonishment, and love, that he remains 
silent and motionless. 

Hymn 4 — " Ho ! every one that thirsts, draw nigh I" 

This is a fine and dignified paraphrase of that 
beautiful passage, Isaiah lv. 1, 2, 3. 

Hymns 6 — " Sinners, turn, why will ye die?" 

7 — " Let the beasts their breath resign ; "— - 
8 — " What could your Redeemer do." — 

These three hymns are a noble expansion of that 
affecting enquiry, addressed of old to God's chosen, 
but rebellious people — Why will ye die, O house 
of Israel ? This enquiry is amplified in Hymn 6, 
as proceeding from God our Maker, from God our 
Saviour, and from God the Spirit ; and the last 
verse illustrates the spiritual death in which sin- 
ners are already involved, and the eternal death 
to which they are exposed. Hymn 7 turns the 
emphasis of the solemn expostulation on the pro- 



TO THE WESLEY AN HYMN BOOK. 91 

noun ye — Why will ye die ? and then refers to 
the peculiar blessings bestowed on the persons 
here addressed — as being exalted above the brutes 
— endowed with reason, will, memory, and a 
capacity of knowing God — as being the subjects 
of preserving and redeeming mercy — favoured 
with gospel light and Christian privileges — all 
these considerations forming so many powerful 
reasons why they should not die. In Hymn 8 
the poet still urges the enquiry, and with a vehe- 
mence that seems almost irresistible ; dwelling 
on the work of the Eedeemer, his compassionate 
invitations, and the shedding of his blood. He 
appeals to sinners on the ground of God's word, 
and of his oath ; and then closes in a most solemn 
and pathetic strain, by introducing God himself 
to confirm and enforce all that had been stated ; 
but then, it is not the glorious God, or the blessed 
God, or God surrounded by all the splendours and 
enjoyments of the heavenly world ; but the suffer- 
ing God ! What a combination of ideas ! Yes, 
it is God indeed, in the person of the adorable 
Eedeemer; it is Jesus weeping, bleeding, dying, 
who here reiterates the question — Why will ye 
die ? What can be more deeply affecting, more 
sublimely poetical, or more scripturally correct, 
than the concluding lines ? 

" See ! the suffering God appears ! 
Jesus weeps ; believe his tears ! 
Mingled with his blood, they cry, 
Why will you resolve to die 1 " 



92 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

Hymn 11 is an excellent composition, founded on 
that striking passage, 2 Corin. v. 20. It exhibits, 
in a very delightful and encouraging way, the un- 
paralleled condescension and the boundless mercy 
of our heavenly Father ; who invites, beseeches, 
and importunately urges poor ruined sinners to 
accept of pardon and salvation. 

Hymns 16, 17 are beautifully descriptive of 
primitive Christianity, which is here exhibited in 
a most engaging form. With the exception of one 
line, the poetry also is smooth and harmonious. 
That exception occurs in the fifth verse, the second 
line of which is perhaps the most harsh and dis- 
agreeable in the whole Hymn Book. 

11 Where shall I wander now to find 
The successors they left "behind?" 

If in the word successors the accent be laid as 
usual on the second syllable, the metre of the 
line is ruined; and to place the accent on the 
first syllable, is violent and unnatural. 

In verses 8, 9 the poet takes up the scriptural 
view of the church, as a building composed of a 
number of living stones. Sinners, converted to 
God through the instrumentality of the preached 
gospel, and the operations of the Holy Spirit, 
form these living stones. At present they lie 
scattered about in various parts of the earth ; 
they are to be collected by the attractive influences 
of the Saviour's eye, drawn together by the music 
of his name, and so charmed and wrought upon, 
that bv degrees they shall rise into a beauteous 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 93 

frame, and become a holy temple in the Lord, a 
habitation of God through the Spirit. 

" Ah ! gather all thy living stones ! 
Scatter'd o'er all the earth they lie, 
Till thou collect them with thine eye ; 
Draw by the music of thy name, 
And charm into a beauteous frame." 

Probably our poet had his eye on the ancient 
fable of Orpheus, who is reported to have pro- 
duced by the charms of his lyre the most astonish- 
ing results ; so that the savage beasts forgot their 
wildness, the rivers ceased to flow, the mountains 
appeared to listen, and the stones and the trees 
were attracted by his song. This fable is evidently 
referred to in another veiy fine hymn of Charles 
Wesley, written originally " for a musician," and 
in all probability for the special use of John 
Frederick Lampe, an eminent musical performer 
and composer, who was a personal Mend of the 
two Wesleys.* The following verses of that hymn 
carry out these truly poetical ideas still more 
strikingly ; and in a way in which they may be 
adopted not only by the pious musician, who em- 
ploys his pleasing art to the glory of God, but in 
a still higher and more inrportant sense, by the 
faithful minister of the gospel. 

" Thine own musician, Lord, inspire, 
And let my consecrated lyre 

Repeat the Psalmist's part ; 
His Son and thine, reveal in me, 
And fill with sacred melody 

The fibres of my heart. 

* See Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. p. 433. 



94 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

" So shall I charm the listening throng, 
And draw the living stones along, 

By Jesu's tuneful name : 
The living stones shall dance, shall rise, 
And form a city in the skies, 
The new Jerusalem." 

" Hymn 18 — " Maker, Saviour of mankind."— 

20 — " Weary souls, that wander wide." — 

These two hymns are compositions of great beauty 
and excellence. The latter is a powerful and 
affectionate exhortation to sinners, in which they 
are urged to accept at once the salvation so freely 
offered in the gospel. The antitheses in verse 2 
are striking : through the pain endured by Christ, 
we obtain ease ; through his expiring groans, we 
have life ; by his fall, we have exaltation ; in him 
we have all that we need. In verses 3 and 4, the 
Wesleyan creed is admirably exhibited and applied. 

Hymn 21 — " Ye simple souls that stray." — 

This noble hymn is partly founded on the senti- 
ments of an apocryphal writer, (Wisdom of 
Solomon v. 3, 4, 5,) and was composed after some 
of the riots that were excited at Cork, by the 
infamous Butler and his mob, in 1749. (See 
Page 82.) 

Hymn 22 — " Behold the Saviour of mankind." — 

This and several of the following hymns, which 
refer to the sufferings and death of Christ, are 
fine specimens of composition in the tender and 
pathetic style. The writer enters fully into the 
infinitely-important scenes that are presented to 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 95 

our view, and appears to be lost in grateful 
amazement, while contemplating the Eedeemer's 
bleeding and dying love. Some of the expres- 
sions in Hymn 25 have been strongly objected to, 
even by some who are in general admirers of 
"Wesley's poetry. 

11 Give me to feel thy agonies; 

One drop of thy sad cup afford ; 
I fain with thee would sympathize, 
And share the sufferings of my Lord." 

Such words unquestionably need some qualifica- 
tion. In the great work of atoning for sin, Jesus 
Christ stood quite alone. He had none to help 
him, none to bear any part of his burden; none, 
in this sense, to drink even one drop of his cup. 
The work of atonement was performed, solely and 
exclusively, by the Lord Jesus. In a qualified 
sense, however, the expression may be allowed : 
and there is some scriptural ground of vindi- 
cation. Christians are said to suffer with Christ ; 
the apostle Paul declared that he was filling up, 
in his flesh, that which is behind of the afflictions 
of Christ ; and our Lord himself said to Zebedee's 
sons, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup. There is, 
therefore, a sense in which believers may drink 
of the Eedeemer's cup, and sympathize in his 
sufferings ; though not in the way of atoning for 
sin. Without such a restriction, the language of 
this verse would be improper and indefensible. 

Hymn 26—" 1 thirst, thou wounded Lamb of God ! " 



96 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

This is an admirable hymn, combining scriptural 
truth, poetical fervour, and deep religious ex- 
perience. Its verses have often been employed 
to express the grateful and enraptured feelings 
of those who are beginning to know something 
of that love of Christ which passe th knowledge. 

Hymn 30 — " Where shall my wondering soul begin?" 

This beautiful hymn, originally entitled, Christy 
the Friend of Sinners — was written by Mr. Charles 
Wesley, together with another of a kindred stamp, 
(Hymn 201,) in May, 1738, and one of the two 
was sung on the very evening when Mr. John 
Wesley first entered into Christian liberty. John 
having left the meeting in Aldersgate Street, 
happy in the pardoning love of God, was accom- 
panied by a number of his friends to the house 
in which Charles was then residing. The two 
brothers and the rest of the happy party sang the 
Hymn with great joy, and parted with prayer.* 
Nothing could be more appropriate for men whose 
hearts were overflowing with gratitude to God, 
and who were desirous that all around them 
should participate in those blessings which they 
had now begun to realize, and which they fully 
believed to be free for all mankind. 

Hymns 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40 are all composi- 
tions of superior value, excellent both in senti- 
ment and in language, and well adapted for public 

* See Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. p. 137. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 97 

worship. The appeals to the omnipresent Ee- 
deemer in Hjinn 33 — 

" Thou loving, all-atoning Lamb," 

and in Hymn 35 — 

" Lover of souls ! thou know'st to prize 
What thou hast bought so dear " — 

are very affecting, and when made in sincerity 
and truth, cannot be disregarded. In verses 6, 7 
of Hymn 34— 

" O unexampled love," &c. 

we have a noble burst of Christian feeling, such 
as may well proceed from those who are deeply 
impressed with the love of God, as manifested in 
the gift of his only begotten Son, on behalf of a 
guilty and perishing world. In verses 6, 7, 8 of 
Hymn 35, the poet makes a beautiful and inge- 
nious use of the feet, the hands, and the side of 
the Eedeemer; and concludes with a bold and 
striking prosopopoeia, in which his wounds are 
represented as conscious and intelligent beings, 
and being invested with the power of speech, 
they cry — "I suffered this for you!" Shake- 
speare has a fine passage, in which, referring to 
the wounds and death of Julius Caesar, he puts 
these words into the mouth of Antony — 

" I tell you that, which you yourselves do know ; 
Show you sweet Caesar's wounds ; poor, poor, dumb mouths, 
And hid them speak for me : but were I Brutus, 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue 
K 



1)8 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY.; OR A COMPANION 

In every wound of Caesar, that should move 
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny." 

Tliis is striking and grand, solemn and truly 
poetical. But the prototype of this figure, in 
which wounds and blood are personified, is in 
Holy Scripture. It is found in God's address to 
the murderer Cain — the voice of thy brothers 
blood crieth unto me from the ground ; and in the 
glowing language of the great apostle, who, refer- 
ring to the blood of sprinkling, tells us that it 
speaketh better things than that of Abel. The 
language of our poet is only an expansion of the 
apostle's sentiment: the blood and the wounds 
of Christ are still speaking to sinners : through 
them the Saviour himself is still speaking, and 
saying — " I suffered this for you." 

Hymn 37, is a spirited and delightful composi- 
tion, in praise of the Eedeemer. The last two 
verses may with propriety and advantage be 
adopted by every minister of Jesus Christ. 

Hymn 38, entitled originally God's love to man- 
kind — is a sublime and edifying meditation on 
the glory, majesty, and goodness of Jehovah, 
and refers especially to the incarnation of the 
Eedeemer, as the most striking display of divine 
benevolence. 

Hymn 39 is taken from the pamphlet, entitled 
" Hymns on God's everlasting Love," published 
in 1741. It exhibits that everlasting love, in all 
the fulness and universality of its provisions ; 
and shows that, in Christ, not only is a measure 



TO THE WffiSLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 99 

of grace prepared for every man, but such grace, 
as, if duly improved, will actually lead to salva- 
tion. In opposition to the unscriptural liniita- 
tions imposed by some on the grace which is 
imparted to those who finally perish, as though 
that grace were capable merely of enlightening 
and convincing, but not of saving them, our poet 
asserts most truly, that the grace prepared for all 
in Christ is sufficient, sovereign, and saving ; that 
he has made atonement for all, even for those ivho 
will not come to him. And in the last two verses, 
he shows the influence which the doctrine of 
general redemption ought to have on our efforts 
and our prayers : it should lead us to labour and 
to pray for the salvation of all mankind. 

Hymn 40 — " Ye neighbours and friends, To Jesus draw near." 

This beautiful and spirited hymn was written 
by Mr. Charles Wesley, after preaching to the 
colliers at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in December, 
1746. 

Hymns 43, 44, 45, are deeply solemn and 
affecting, as well as instructive, and admirably 
adapted to the momentous subjects on which 
they treat. Mr. John Wesley, during his latter 
years, in the society-meetings which he generally 
held after the evening preaching, usually con- 
cluded his exhortation by giving out that fine 
verse, the last of Hymn 45 — 

" O that without a lingering groan," &c. 
Hymn 46 — " The morning flowers display their sweets." 

LofC. 



100 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

An exquisitely beautiful piece of poetry, coin- 
posed by die Rev. Samuel Wesley, jun.. on 
the death of a young lady. It is founded on 
scriptural views of the frailty and uncertainty 
of human life, here compared to the morning 
flowers — fragrant and beautiful, but fading and 
short-lived. And it shows how the Christian 
triumphs over sickness and death, in anticipating 
the resurrection of the body and the enjoyment 
of heavenly bliss. 

Hymn 46 — " Come let us anew Our journey pursue." 

This fine and lively hymn is constantly sung at 
the watch-night services, usually held by the 
"Wesleyan Methodists, when they close the old 
year and commence the new one, in the house of 
God, and in a solemn act of worship. For these 
occasions it is admirably adapted, not only by its 
appropriate and weighty sentiments, but by its 
peculiar metre. In this measure each full verse, 
like verses 2, 5, 6 — contains ten anapaests, or ten 
regular successions of two short syllables, fol- 
lowed by a long syllable — thus — 

His ad5 | rable will [ Let us glad ( ly'° fulfil 
u And our tal | ents improve 
By w the pa | tience of hope j and the la | bour of love. 

Here the short syllables being double the num- 
ber of the long ones, a character of rapidity and 
animation is stamped on the metre. And the 
singing of this hymn, particularly when connected 
with the stillness and solemnity of the midnight 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 101 

hour, is usually accompanied by powerful and 
salutary impressions. We feel ourselves roused 
and excited, and are stirred up to diligence and 
zeal in preparing for that eternal world to which 
we are continually hastening, and of the near- 
ness of which we are at these times especially 
reminded. 

Hymn 43 — " Ah ! lovely appearance of death !" 

This is a very hue and deeply- affecting hymn. 
To the death of a Christian believer it is very 
appropriate ; though it is only under peculiar 
circumstances, and for a very short time, that 
we can ever pronounce the appearance of death 
lovely. It is only when we lose sight of the 
degradation of the body, and are powerfully 
impressed with an assurance of the safety and 
felicity of the soul, that we can enter into the 
poet's views and feelings. And allowing that 
the poetry is beautiful and excellent in a high 
degree, there are, notwithstanding, expressions 
which cannot be justified ; such as — 

" In love with the beautiful clay, 

And longing to lie in its stead." 

" Whose relics with envy I see." 

The wish expressed in the last verse, is quite in 
unison with the feelings of one who is wrought 
up into a sort of poetical phrensy — 

" What now with my tears I bedew, 

O might I this moment become !" 

K 2 



102 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

Such words, if uttered by any but a true believer, 
would evince presumption and madness, and 
would be equivalent to a prayer for instant dam- 
nation. Some indeed have thought, that the 
objection against this couplet is neutralized by the 
following line — 

" My spirit created anew." 

Here, it has been said, the person is taught to 
pray that, before he dies, his spirit may be created 
anew ; that is, that he may be regenerated, sancti- 
fied, and thus fitted for an immediate admission 
into Paradise. But in any one who is not already 
a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, it would surely 
be an unwarrantable assumption, that everything 
requisite to make him meet for heaven may be 
accomplished this moment, and that therefore he 
may properly pray that he may die this moment. 
And it may be justly doubted whether such words 
could ever, under any circumstances, be used with 
propriety, even by a child of God. He who adopts 
this language as his own, ought not only to be 
fully assured that he is pardoned and regenerated, 
wholly sanctified and thus made meet for the 
heavenly inheritance ; but he ought also to know 
with certainty that his work on earth is ended, 
that his race of duty and suffering is run, that 
no additional service yet remains to be performed 
by him, no affliction to be endured, no deeper 
lesson in the divine life to be learned, no further 
experience of the power of the grace of God to 






TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 103 

be realized. Otherwise it is premature and 
presumptuous for him to express such wishes. 
The first and the last verses of this hymn ought 
never, on any occasion, to be given out for singing. 
" The funeral hymns (says Mr. Watson) have 
but little of the softness of sorrow, perhaps too 
little ; but they are written in that fulness of 
faith, which exclaims over the open tomb — 
Thanhs he to God, ivho giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. The hymns on 
the last day are characterized also by the same 
unflinching faith, which, rejoicing in the smile 
of the Judge, defies the wild uproar of the 
elements and the general conflagration itself. 
In several of these, Mr. Charles Wesley has 
admirably christianized the just man of Horace, 
dreadless, amidst the ruins of a world — 

" Si fractus illabatur orbis, 
Impavidum ferient ruinae," 

placing the same fine thought in various aspects, 
and illustrating it by different circumstances." * 

Hymns 49 to 53 are beautiful and excellent, 
both in sentiment and in language ; and they 
embody almost everything that can be said as to 
the safety and happiness of those who die in 
the Lord. Hymn 52 is specially adapted to the 
case of a pious youth, called suddenly into 
eternity ; and Hymn 53 to that of an aged and 
holy widow, whose husband also died in the 

* Watson's Life of the Rev. John Wesley, page 327, 



104 WESLEYAN HY3INOLOGY ) OR A COMPANION 

faith. In verse 2 of the latter hymn the poet 
throws out an idea which is rather novel, hut 
perhaps not extravagant — 

" Where glorified spirits, hy sight, 
Converse in their holy abode." 

That there is "blessed and delightful intercourse 
among the inhahitants of that heavenly world, 
there can he no reasonable doubt. In what way 
that intercourse is earned on, we cannot precisely 
say ; but that holy spirits can converse by sight 
without the aid of language, is at least an inno- 
cent conjecture. 

Hymns 54 to 06 are remarkable no less for 
solemn, impressive, and dignified language, than 
for the grandeur and inrportance of the scenes 
to which they refer. Hymns 62, 63, 64 were 
written in December, 1755, soon after the news 
arrived of the destruction of a considerable part 
of Lisbon, by a tremendous earthquake, and 
while the British nation was agitated with 
apprehensions of a French invasion. Hymns 
60, 61, 62 first appeared in a small collection, 
published by Mr. Charles Wesley for special 
use on the Fast-day appointed by the govern- 
ment in February, 1756. Hymns 67 and 555 
were written on occasion of the earthquake in 
London, in March, 1750. These considerations 
show the meaning and the propriety of several 
of the expressions used in these hymns. We 
thus find what our poet sj)ecially refers to, when 
he speaks, in Hymn 60, of God's vengeful phiah, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 105 

of woes and fiery trials, of alarming tokens, and 
national confusion — in Hymn 62, of the bursting 
cloud and the vengeful day, the shaking of earth's 
basis and the fall of its cities — in Hymn 68, of 
the Almighty s wrath, his judgments, his heaviest 
showers, and the pouring out of the seventh angels 
phial — and in Hymn 67, of the shattered earth, 
and a tottering world. The strongest and boldest 
of these expressions are not to be regarded as 
the mere nights of a poetical fancy, or the 
fictions of an inventive genius ; they are based 
on sober truth, and do not imply more than 
what really occurred during that eventful era. 
When one of the principal cities of Europe 
became the scene of a catastrophe which over- 
threw thousands of houses and hurried many 
thousands of souls into eternity, it appeared as 
though earth's basis were shaken : and when 
the British metropolis was filled with consterna- 
tion and terror by the earthquakes of February 
and March, 1750, it appeared as though the world 
were tottering to its fall, and the earth were in 
danger of being shattered and removed. The 
circumstances of the times should always be 
kept in mind, in connexion with these admirable 
specimens of sacred poetry. 

Hymn 57 is one of great poetical beauty and 
merit. Instead of the usual alternation of short and 
long syllables required by the metre, according 
to which each line should contain four iambuses 
in regular succession, we have several instances 



106 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

in which a long syllable is used instead of a 
short one, and a spondee substituted for an 
iambus. This throws a greater number of long 
syllables into the Hue, and thus gives it a slow- 
ness, dignity, and solemnity, of winch it would 
otherwise be destitute. Thus in the line — 

While twice | ten thou | sand thiin | ders roar — 

we have two spondees and two iambuses, or six 
long syllables and only two short ones. In the 
line — 

Tear tip | thS graves | and cleave | the ground — 

the first foot is a trochee instead of an iambus; 
and the first syllable being a long one, strongly 
accented, and being followed by two short ones, 
conveys some idea of the violence, suddenness, 
and terror of the scene described. In the line 

The earth | no more | her slam | conceal — 

the second foot is a spondee instead of an iambus. 
Nearly the same remarks are applicable to the 
last line of verse 3, as to the third of verse 1 — 

Stand as | the rock J of a | ges, sure — 

Here also we have a trochee for the first foot, 
and a long syllable, followed by two short ones. 
The long and important syllable stand being 
placed in front of this line, and the long syllable 
sure at the close, cut off by the caesura, and 
insulated, as it were, from the rest of the line, 
are well adapted to convey an impression of the 
stability, safety, and security of those who can 
adopt such language as their own. In the line— 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 107 

We, while | the stars | from heaven | shall fall — 

the caesura, coming in so uncommon a position, 
after the first syllable ice, makes that word 
peculiarly emplmtical, and strongly fixes the 
attention on those to whom such sayings are 
a2}plicable, as contrasted with persons of an 
opposite character, whose final doom will be the 
reverse of all that is stated in the third and 
following verses. The latter half of verses 4 
and 5, and the whole of verse 6, are beautifully 
expressive of the calmness and composure with 
which true Christians will be enabled to contem- 
plate scenes so grand and awful. 

H}-rnn 59 — " Thou God of glorious majesty." 

" This (says Mr. Montgomery) is a subliine con- 
templation — solemn, collected, unimpassioned 
thought; but thought occupied with that which 
is of everlasting import to a dying man, standing 
on the lapse of a moment between two eternities." 
It has been supposed that the striking and sub- 
lime thought in verse 2 — 

" Lo ! on a narrow neck of land, 
5 Twixt two unbounded seas I stand," 

was first suggested to Mr. Charles Wesley by the 
bold scenery in the neighbourhood of the Land's 
End, during one of his early visits to the west 
of Cornwall, in 1743 or 1744. There we have 
literally a narrow neck of land, stretching out 
between two seas ; that is, the Bristol Channel 
to the north, and the English Channel to the 



108 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

south ; and from some of the high parts of the 
country both seas can he seen. (See page 14.) 

Hymn 62, in a very animated and dignified 
strain, describes the peace, security, and happi- 
ness of the people of God, in times of political 
commotion and national distress. 

Hymns 63, 64 are eminently solemn and sub- 
lime. The poet brings full to our view the 
grandeurs and the terrors of the great day of 
judgment ; and to the enquiries which the trem- 
bling sinner is constrained to make on the anti- 
cipated arrival of that day — What shall I do ? 
Where shall I look for refuge? Where can I find 
a place of safety ? — he gives a most satisfactory 
reply by directing him to the Lord Jesus. And 
the Redeemer is beautifully represented under 
the scrip tural metaphor of a rock — a rock cleft 
asunder — a rock beneath whose shade and within 
whose cleft there is perfect security. 

Hymn 65 — "Ye virgin souls, arise." — 

This is a fine jDoetical paraphrase and ajmhcation 
of the parable of the ten virgins, going out to 
meet the bridegroom. The concluding hues of 
the last verse — 

" When Jesus doth the heavens bow, 
(let us) Be found, as Lord, thou find'st us now," 

express a petition which it would be highly 
improper to put into the mouths of a large and 
promiscuous assembly. Such language is fit for 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 109 

none but those who are pardoned and renewed, 
emptied of sin and filled with love, and who are 
habitually living in the spirit of watchfulness 
and prayer. 

Hymn 66 — " Lo ! lie comes with clouds descending." 

This is a spirited and noble hynin, in a metre 
well adapted either for cheerful or for solemn 
subjects. There is something very striking and 
eminently poetical in the third verse, which re- 
presents the Redeemer's glorified body as still 
bearing the tokens of his passion, and the saints 
as gazing with rapture on the glorious scars. The 
scriptural authority for this is found in our Lord's 
address, after his resurrection, to Thomas — Reach 
hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach 
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side: and in 
the exhibition of the heavenly world presented 
to St. John, in which stood a Lamb, as it had 
been slain. Hence there is reason to believe 
that the marks and evidences of our Saviour's 
sufferings and death still remain on his person, 
and will so remain for ever. 

In Hymn 67 the poet starts with the ideas 
suggested by an inspired writer (Psalm xlix. 11), 
and finely contrasts the prospects of the mere 
worldling with those of the child of God. In 
the last two verses he gives utterance to one of 
his favourite sentiments, ana offers an earnest 
prayer for the immediate arrival of the day of 
judgment. Such language may in some degree 

L 



110 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGYj OK A COMPANION 

be vindicated by the words of St. Peter, who 
represents believers as looking for and hasting 
unto the coming of the day of God; and by those 
of St. John, who having recorded the last com- 
munication which he had received from his 
divine Master, in those solemn terms — Surely I 
come quickly; Amen — immediately subjoins — 
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. But it should be used 
very cautiously. It should be adopted by none 
but those who have a scriptural and well-grounded 
hope of eternal felicity; and by them, only in 
the exercise of j>erfect resignation to the divine 
will, and with entire willingness to wait all the 
days of their ajjpointed time, till their final change 
shall come. The same remarks are applicable 
to many other passages in these hymns. 

Hymn 68 — " How happy is the pilgrim's lot ! " 

This might properly be entitled The Christian 
Pilgrim. It is one of the few hymns in the Col- 
lection that were composed by the Rev. John 
Wesley, and is unquestionably a beautiful piece 
of poetry. Very few persons, however, can adopt 
all the verses as applicable to their own state. 
Some of the language is so strong, that even Mr, 
John Wesley — pilgrim as he was in a very 
eminent degree — as dead, perhaps, as any real 
Christian could be, to the honours, riches, and en- 
joyments of this world — could not adopt it abso- 
lutely, and without qualification. It was only in 
a comparative and restricted sense that even he 
could say — 



TO THE WESLEYAK HYMN BOOK. Ill 

* No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in this wilderness " — 
" Nothing on earth I call my own."— 

In the last two verses, we find the writer, not- 
withstanding his characteristic sobriety and self- 
possession, so borne away by the train of thought 
that he was pursuing, and by the poetical inspira- 
tion which he felt, that he slides, almost imper- 
ceptibly, into the sentiment so often expressed 
in his brother's poetry, and prays for an im- 
mediate admission into Paradise — 

" Now let the pilgrim's journey end : 
Now, O my Saviour, Brother, Friend, 
Receive me to thy breast." 

Among the hymns describing Heaven, are some 
of peculiar excellence ; in which the poet has 
very happily availed himself of the beautiful and 
impressive images, furnished by Holy Scripture. 
Five of these hymns (70, 73, 77, 78, 79) are in 
the anapaestic measure ; in which the first foot is 
usually an iambus; the second and third feet, 
anapaests. 

°I long | to behold j him arrayed — 
^Away j with our sor j row and fear — 

Here each line contains five short and three long 
syllables ; and the metre has in it something 
peculiarly pleasing. It is capable of all the soft- 
ness and delicacy which are proper for the most 
solemn and pathetic subjects; and at the same 
time of all the animation and fire, which cor- 
respond with a joyful and triumphant strain : as 
examples of the former may be mentioned Hymns 



112 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

48, 49, 53; of the latter, Hymns 73, 220, 228. 
But its predominating characteristic is animation 
and cheerfulness. 

Hymns 69, 71, 72, are all excellent. There is 
something very striking in the calm and dignified 
way in which, in verses 1 and 2 of Hymn 69, the 
Christian is represented as going to meet his last 
enemy, death : not dismayed at the prospect, not 
alarmed by any apprehensions as to the result of 
death ; hut confidently anticipating a complete 
victory, and an immediate admittance into glory. 
Verse 4 is calculated to check any vain curiosity 
that we may he disposed to indulge, as to the 
nature of the enjoyments reserved in the heavenly 
world for the saints of God. 

Hymn 71 is a beautiful illustration of the pil- 
grimage of true Christians, who are journeying 
through this world towards the new Jerusalem, 
the city of the living God. That is a fine idea, 
and equally correct, at the close of verse 5 — 

" That palace of our glorious King, 
We find it nearer while we sing." 

If love be the very element of heaven— inasmuch 
as God is love — the more of that love we obtain, 
while on earth, the more do we approximate to 
the state of the blessed spirits around the throne. 
If we are getting an increase of divine love, we are 
verily rising nearer and nearer to heaven itself; 
and the above-quoted line is no longer hyperbole. 

Hymn 73 — " Away with our sorrow and fear." — 

This is an admirable hymn, in which the beauty 






TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. IJo 

of the language and the grandeur of the imagery 
are set off to the best advantage by the liveliness 
of the metre : all according exceedingly well with 
the feelings produced by the contemplation of 
such objects. Perhaps the closing lines of the 
last verse need some qualification — 

" And all the enjoyment above 
Consists in the rapturous gaze." 

The beatific sight of God in Christ will undoubt- 
edly be the summum bonum — the chief felicity of 
glorified saints — the all in all of heaven itself. 
Yet we should not imagine that there will be any- 
thing like a monotony — a perpetual sameness of 
enjoyments. On the contrary, there is good rea- 
son to believe that there will be novelty and 
yariety in that world of purity and bliss ; an 
eternal succession of pleasures, springing ever 
fresh and new, from the inexhaustible fountains 
of divine love. 

Hymns 75, 76 are two fine and excellent com- 
positions, founded on that delightful portion of 
Holy Writ, Eevelation vii. 9 to 17. The metre 
also is solemn, dignified, and well adapted to the 
subject. Each line consists of a long syllable, 
followed by three iambuses in regular succession ; 
that is, four long syllables and three short ones. 
And this preponderance of long syllables con- 
tributes to the stateliness and solemnity of the 
metre, 

What ) are these j arrayed i in white, 
Bright | er than | the noon j day sun. 
L 2 



CHAPTER VI. 

REMARKS ON VARIOUS HYMNS, CONTINUED. 

The hymns praying for a blessing, 81 to 90, 
are all excellent in their kind, and better adapted 
than many of the others to general use, in a large 
and promiscuous assembly. 

There is something very affecting in the appeals 
to the compassionate Redeemer, in verses 5, 6 of 
Hymn 82, on behalf of careless and perishing 
sinners — 

" Why should they die, when thou hast died ; 

Hast died to bear their sins away? " 
" Why should the foe thy purchase seize ? " 

These are sentiments into which all ministers of 
Christ should especially enter ; and by such con- 
siderations their zeal in the service of their blessed 
Master ought to be inflamed more and more. 

Hymn 84 was composed by Mr. Charles Wesley 
in June 1746, before preaching at Portland in 
Dorsetshire, where the people were mostly em- 
ployed in the stone quarries. The phraseology of 
the first verse — 

" Strike with the hammer of thy word. 
And break these hearts of stone " — 



WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY. 115 

may have been suggested by the scenes which 
then attracted the poet's notice : but both the 
ideas are scriptural. See Jeremiah xxiii. 29 — 
Ezekiel xxxvi. 26. 

Hymns 85, 86 are admirably adapted to public 
worship, and exhibit in a very impressive way 
the universal provisions of the gospel, inviting 
all without exception to participate therein. 

Hymns 87, 88, 89 show the purposes which are 
to be answered by the Holy Scriptures, and fur- 
nish us with a variety of excellent petitions. If 
used aright, they cannot be used without benefit, 

The hymns descriptive of formal religion, 91 
to 94, are very valuable, as pointing out and 
guarding us against one of those rocks on which 
thousands have split ; namely, the substitution of 
outward and formal observances for inward and 
experimental godliness. Hymns 91, 92 were 
written in 1740, in the midst of those disputes 
relative to Christian means and ordinances, which 
had then commenced between the Moravians and 
the early Methodists ; some of the former having 
unhappily imbibed and having begun to propa- 
gate antinomian sentiments. While some unduly 
exalted the means of grace, as though a regular 
attendance on them constituted the whole of re- 
ligion ; and others unduly depreciated them, as 
though to Christian believers they weie unneces- 
sary and useless ; the two Wesleys held on their 
steady course, guarding against extremes, both 
on the right hand and on the left ; and these four 



118 WESLEYAN HYMN0L0GY.; OR A COMPANION 

hymns embody those just, sound, and scriptural 
views on this important subject, which they ever 
afterwards maintained, and which are still main- 
tained by all true Methodists. 

The hymns describing inward religion, 95 to 
98, are particularly excellent, and clearly point 
out that inward experience, that work of God in 
the heart, which is the very essence of pure and 
undented religion. 

r Hymn 95 is a fine specimen of poetical com- 
position. Verse 4 is soft, smooth, and beautiful 
in diction, and at the same time expresses most 
important theological truth — 

" To him that in thy name believes, 
Eternal life with thee is given ; 
Into himself he all receives, 
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven." 

Verse 6 strikingly exhibits the effect of true faith, 
and concludes in that bold and daring style, which 
delights in strong and paradoxical language — 

" The invisible appears in sight, 
And God is seen by mortal eye." 

The peace, the joy, the love of the true believer, 
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the meek and 
lowly mind of Christ, the cheerful obedience to 
all his commands, the pursuit of perfect holiness — 
are all beautifully set before us in Hymn 96. And 
in Hymn 97, one who has experienced the draw- 
ings of the Father, and the enlightening and 
convincing operations of the Spirit, is led on in 
earnest desire after greater blessings — even the 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 117 

sense of sin forgiven ; the witness of the Holy 
Spirit, that he is a child of God ; the love of God 
shed abroad in his heart ; and the ability to draw 
nigh with confidence to God, as his reconciled 
Father in Christ Jesus. 

The hymns praying for repentance, and those 
for persons convinced of sin or of backsliding, 99 
to 181, abound in strong and correct views of the 
guilt and wretchedness, depravity and helpless- 
ness of fallen man. Penitential sorrow and 
hunrihation are strikingly displayed, and earnest 
petitions for pardon and salvation are interspersed. 
Many of these petitions are addressed to the 
divine and compassionate Saviour ; and they show 
us the ground on which we may plead with him, 
while seeking deliverance from the guilt and curse 
of sin. Nothing can be better calculated than 
this whole class of hymns, to beat down the pride 
of the unrenewed heart, to lay the sinner low in 
the dust and ashes before God, to drive him away 
from every false prop and refuge, and to prepare 
him for the immediate reception of the blessings 
of the gospel, through faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

The striking figure in verse 2 of Hymn 103 — 

" Show me the naked sword, 
Impending o'er my head" — 

is taken from the story of Damocles, as rejDorted 
by Cicero. Damocles was one of the flatterers of 
Dionysius, the monarch of Sicily, who died 368 



118 wesleyan hymnology; ok a companion 

years before the Christian era. He admired the 
wealth and grandeur of that sovereign, and pro- 
nounced him the happiest man npon earth. 
Dionysius, wishing to correct his views, prevailed 
on him to undertake for a time the charge and 
the duties of royalty. Damocles consented ; and 
having ascended the throne, he gazed with de- 
light on the splendour and luxury by which he 
was surrounded. But soon he perceived a sword, 
suspended by a horse-hair, directly over his head. 
This spoiled all his enjoyment; and he speedily 
begged permission to relinquish so dangerous a 
situation. 

The poet makes a good use of this story. The 
divine displeasure resting on every unpardoned 
sinner, is indeed like a naked sword, hanging 
over his head, ready every moment to fall upon 
him, and to bring instant destruction and ruin. 

In Hymn 108 the poet beautifully applies the 
affecting incident of Christ's tinning and looking 
upon Peter, just after the apostle had, for the 
third time, denied his Lord. The burden of each 
verse is — 

" Turn, and look upon me, Lord, 
And break my heart of stone." 

Verses 5, 6, 7, 8, show the kind of look, 
which the poor penitent sinner solicits from his 
Redeemer : such a look, as he cast on Adam after 
his fall — on the Israelites, when groaning under 
Egyptian bondage — on the sinner, who washed 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 119 

his feet with her tears and wiped thern with the 
hairs of her head — on his murderers, when he 
prayed, Father, forgive them. Then at length 
his prayer is heard, his request is granted ; and, 
instead of uttering the petition once more, he 
closes hy saying — 

" O my bleeding, loving Lord ! 
Thou break'st my heart of stone." 

Hymn 108 was originally entitled — Grace 
before Meat. In the first four verses the poet, 
in strong and elegant language, describes the 
lamentable consequences of the fall, showing 
that the creatures are changed from their original 
purpose and tendency, being cursed on account 
of man's sin; so that his pleasure becomes his 
bane, all nature is infected, his very food helps 
to poison him. Then in verse 5, we are taught 
to address our heavenly Adam, and implore his 
healing influences, that he may hallow our food, 
and reverse our doom. The blessed effects of the 
Redeemer's glorious undertakings, realized by 
every true Christian, are most beautifully pointed 
out in the closing verse — 

* Earth then a scale to heaven shall be ; 
Sense shall point out the road ; 
The creatures all shall lead to thee, 
And all we taste, be God." 

Then will our food indeed be sanctified, and 
our ordinary meals will become to us means of 
grace. And this is nothing more than we shall 
actually experience, when we have learned, 



120 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do, to 
do all to the glory of God. There is peculiar 
beauty in the first line of Yerse 7 — 

Turn the | full stream | of na | ture's tide — 

Here, instead of the usual succession of four 
iambuses, the first foot is a trochee, and the 
second a spondee. The two long syllables of 
the spondee compel us to dwell longer on those 
two words, and harmonize well with the idea of 
amplitude and abundance in the stream — a 
stream that is both wide and deep : while the 
rapid transition from the strongly-accented word 
Turn to the spondee in the second foot — so 
rapid, that the short inteiwening syllable the 
seems almost forgotten — giYes some impression 
of the power and violence with which this full 
stream is turned into a new channel, so that 
henceforward the tide shall flow in an oj)posite 
direction. 

Hymn 112 is an ingenious and evangelical 
application of the story of the good Samaritan. 

Hymn 114 is part of a hymn written originally 
by Mr. Charles Wesley, on parting with his 
friends. We have here only 5 verses out of 29 ; 
and these are perhaps all that can be well 
adapted to general use. 

Hynm 11.5 takes up the idea thrown out by 
the apostle Paul, who spoke of himself as the 
chief of sinners, and the close of every verse is — 

11 1 the chief of sinners am, 
But Jesus died for me." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 121 

The same idea we haYe in Yerse 4 of Hymn 
116— 

" Me, the vilest of the race, 
Most unholy, most unclean ; 
Me, the farthest from thy face, 
Full of misery and sin ; 
Me with arms of love receive, 
Me, of sinners chief, forgive. 1 ' 

And no well-instructed disciple of Christ will 
scruple to apply this language to himself, and to 
confess that such, originally and by nature, was 
his state. Every such person will be inclined to 
view himself — that is, when considered not as a 
believer, but merely as a sinner, indej^endently 
of divine grace and of the influences of the 
Holy Spirit — as the chief of sinners, the vilest 
of the race, the most unholy, the farthest from 
God. This is the language of unfeigned humility, 
and of profound self-knowledge. 

Hymn 122 is, throughout, an affecting appeal 
to the once-crucified Saviour. While, however, 
the poet dwells somewhat in detail on the cir- 
cumstances of our Lord's passion, his being 
transfixed on Calvary, having his eyes quenched 
and his head bowed in death, we have nothing 
of that low, colloquial phraseology which some 
writers employ : every expression is proper, 
solemn, dignified. Though he is referred to as 
" The man transfix'd on Calvary" — he is also de- 
clared to be — " The one eternal God and true." 

Hymn 127 is a beautiful exposition of that 
fine passage, Micah vi. 6, 7, 8. First, the sinner 

M 



122 WESLEYAN Iltl'IXOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

is led to discover his guilt and helplessness ; he 
is shown that there is no way whatever, either 
by sacrifices, or by costly offerings, or by present 
or future obedience, in which he can atone for 
his past offences. He is consciously guilty, 
deserving of everlasting punishment, and acknow- 
ledges the justice of Iris condemnation. Then, 
when no other prop can be found, when no other 
plea presents itself, he takes up this plea — Thy 
Son hath died. That plea he urges, and urges 
successfully ; for his prayer being accompanied by 
the Redeemer's intercession, has power with God, 
and he obtains the salvation which he needs. 

Nothing can be more beautifully pathetic than 
the appeals made, in many of these hymns, to 
the adorable and omnipresent Redeemer, Thus, 
in Hymn 128 the 23erson sjDeaking begins to con- 
sider and enquire — Will God, a Being so great 
and glorious, known but partially even to angels, 
manifest liimself to me? Will he leave his 
heavenly throne, and appear to me, a worm of 
the earth ? Then, when one might begin to fear 
and despond, he suddenly turns aside, as it were, 
from the former current of thought, appeals to 
the Redeemer for an answer, dwells on his sacri- 
ficial work, realizes the efficacy of his atonement, 
and is finally admitted to the beatific vision. 
There is something inexpressibly affecting in 
that appeal — 

" Answer, thou Man of grief and love, 
And speak it to my heart." 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 123 

111 addition to the remarks already made on those 
two unrivalled hymns, 140, 141, (Page 85) the 
following observations may advantageously be 
introduced. "It applies, with admirable inge- 
nuity and tact, the patriarch's mysterious conflict 
and the happy result to which it led, to the 
process of an awakened sinner s salvation. The 
absence of company, the night season, the length 
of the struggle, the lameness inflicted upon the 
patriarch, the return of the morning, the com- 
munication of the desired blessing, are all brought 
to bear upon the penitent's deliverance from sin, 
obtained by praying, agonizing faith, and followed 
by the joy of pardon and holiness, and by the 
race for eternal life. The sentiments of this 
hymn are as true to fact, as they are to sound 
theology. The divine angel with whom Jacob 
wrestled, was unquestionably the Son of God ; 
and that the patriarch received, in the course of 
that memorable conflict, not merely the assurance 
of temporal preservation, but actual salvation 
from sin, is undeniable. From that time his 
conduct proves him to have been a new man." * 

Hymn 143 — " Jesu, lover of my soul." — 

This is a composition of great poetical beauty ; 
and it delineates so correctly the views, feelings, 
and desires of a true Christian, that it has become 
a favourite among the pious of all denominations. 

* Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. page 306. 



124 wesleyan hymnology; oe a companion 

Hymn 147 — " love divine, how sweet thou art ! " 

This is an excellent hymn, beautifully expressive 
of gracious feelings and of ardent desires. Some 
of the language is so strong, that, if used at 
all, it should he used with very great care and 
caution — 

" I thirst, I faint, I die to prove 
The greatness of redeeming love, 
The love of Christ to me." 

" For love I sigh, for love 1 pine." — 

To thirst inrplies a high degree of desire, eager, 
impatient, resolute ; to faint implies still more; 
desire becoming so strong and so vehement, that 
the person under its influence is quite overpower- 
ed, and sinks into a state of unconsciousness. 
But even this does not satisfy the poet ; the per- 
son not only faints, but dies. Here desire is 
carried to the highest possible pitch, and human 
nature can sustain it no longer ; the exercises of 
the mind are too powerful for the frail tenement 
of clay, and life itself becomes extinct. The 
same figure of speech we have also in that fine 
hymn, 240 — 

" While thee, all-Infinite, I set 
By faith before my ravish'd eye, 
My weakness bends beneath the weight ; 
O'erpower'd I sink, I faint, I die." 

In this last line the gradation of ideas is regular 
and beautiful, and the climax is perfect. But 
this fine and bold poetical language, though it 
may help in private meditation and in the exer- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK!. 125 

cises of the closet, can scarcely be regarded as 
proper for general use in the sanctuary, or in 
public worship. 

Hymn 151 — u Out of the deep I cry." — 

This is a very affecting hymn, abounding in 
strong and vivid descriptions of the sinner's 
guilty, wretched, and perishing condition, and 
in striking appeals to the compassion of the 
Saviour. Two lines of verse 3 have been a little 
misunder st o o d — 

" Canst thou not accept my prayer ? 
Not bestow the grace I claim? " 

It might be supposed that the negative not is 
here intended to qualify the preceding verb canst 
expressed in the first line, and understood in the 
second; according to which interpretation, the 
meaning is as though he had said — 

Art thou not able to accept my prayer ? 
Not able to bestow the grace I claim? 

But the poet's design was, to connect the nega- 
tive hi each case with the following verb accept — 
bestow — and by this prefix to reverse the meaning 
of the verb. Not to accept, is to reject; not to 
bestow, is to withhold ; and this leads us to the 
true sense of the two lines ; which is — 

" Canst thou reject my prayer ? 
(Canst thou) withhold the grace I claim ? " 

Hymn 154 — " Fain would I leave the world below." 

This fine, but melancholy hymn was written by 
Mr, Charles Wesley about January, 1737, and was 
m2 



128 WESLEYAN-HYMNOLOGYJ OR A COMPANION 

originally entitled — A midnight hymn, for one 
under the law. It contained six verses, the first 
and second of which are now omitted ; and it ex- 
hibited the defective and unevangelical creed of 
one who had never been brought into Christian 
liberty, and who had no hope of solid and per- 
manent happiness previous to death. Accordingly 
his brother John, when adopting it into his col- 
lection, was careful, in the last line of verse 1, 
to substitute faith for death. " Thus altered, 
(says Mr. Jackson,) it no longer appears as the 
desponding language of a real Christian, expect- 
ing to be made free from sin and its attendant 
misery only by the body's dissolution ; but as the 
prayer of a weeping penitent, who is convinced 
of his guilt and corruption, and is looking for a 
present deliverance from them, through faith in 
the blood of atonement/' The first two verses, 
as being worthy of preservation, are subjoined — 

" While midnight shades the earth overspread, 

And veil the bosom of the deep, 
Nature reclines her weary head, 

And care respires, and sorrows sleep : 
My soul still aims at nobler rest, 
Aspiring to her Saviour's breast. 

" Aid me, ye hovering spirits near, 

Angels and ministers of grace ; 
Who ever, while you guard us here, 

Behold your heavenly Father's face : 
Gently my raptur'd soul convey 
To regions of eternal day." 

Hymn 155 — *' God of my life, what just return." 

This is part of a beautiful and affecting hvnm, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 127 

(8 verses out of 17) written by Mr. Charles Wesley 
at Oxford, about March, 1738, just after his re- 
covery from a dangerous illness. 
Hymn 156 is a fine morning hymn. 

Hymn 158 — " O my God, what must I do ?" 

Some of the expressions in this hymn are so 
strong, that it is doubtful whether they can on 
any ground be justified. 

11 Force me, Lord, with all to part" — 
*' Force me to be saved by grace." 

The same sentiment we find in other hymns. 
Thus in Hymn 2, we have " Yield to his love's 
resistless power" — and in Hymn 102 — "Strike 
with thy love's resistless stroke." We must be- 
ware of taking up the idea, that the operations 
of the Spirit of God on the minds of men are, 
generally and absolutely, irresistible. This would 
be in direct opposition to many scriptural declara- 
tions ; and would make many scriptural precepts 
and cautions unmeaning and absurd. If those 
operations are under any circumstances and to 
any extent irresistible, it is only for a short time, 
and in reference to some of the earlier move- 
ments of that divine Agent in the human soul ; 
when he first communicates light and influence 
and power, discovers to the sinner his guilt and 
clanger, alarms his conscience, and excites appre- 
hensions of the wrath to come. The general rule 
is, that the grace communicated by God must be 



128 WESLEtAN hymnology; or a COMPANION 

used and improved by man ; for whosoever hath, 
to him shall be given, and he shall have more 
abundance. Hence, while God is working in us, 
to will and to do of his good pleasure, we are re- , 
quired to work out our own salvation, with fear 
and trembling. In fact, these passages of our 
poet may be found to furnish an antidote to the 
error, which at first view they seem to coun- 
tenance. For if the operations of the Holy 
Spirit were really carried on independently of 
man's acquiescence and concurrence, there would 
be no propriety in praying for such divine visita- 
tions. In teaching the sinner to offer that 
petition — " Force me to be saved by grace " — we 
teach him, that, even allowing that God may, and 
sometimes does, operate in that powerful way in- 
timated by the term force, still he will not do it, 
unless we pray for it ; unless in effect we submit 
to such operations. And in exhorting sinners to 
"yield to his love's resistless power" — we un- 
doubtedly teach them, that this power — resistless 
as it is said to be — will accomplish nothing in 
their behalf, unless they yield to it. They may 
by possibility oppose it ; they may set themselves 
against it; and while they thus act — however 
mighty the power of God's love — whatever wonders 
it is capable of effecting— it will avail them 
nothing at all. They must yield to it, in order 
that they may profit by it. 

Hymn 163—" When, gracious Lord, When shall it be"-— 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 129 

This is a fine and instructive hymn. It correctly 
describes the feelings and desires of a deeply- 
convinced sinner, who, with all possible sincerity 
and importunity, is seeking the salvation of God. 
The third and fourth .lines of verse 2 — • 

" O dark ! dark ! dark ! I still must say, 
Amid the blaze of gospel-day ! " 

are an imitation of Milton, who, in Iris Samson 
Agonistes, puts these words into Samson's mouth — 

" O dark ! dark ! dark ! amid the "blaze of noon, 
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse, 
Without all hope of day ! " 

Hymn 168 — " Depth of mercy ! can there be." — 

This hymn admirably describes the feelings of a 
penitent, broken-hearted sinner, deeply humbled 
under a consciousness of his aggravated guilt, in 
having cast away the grace of God and fallen into 
a state of apostacy. Most beautifully does the 
poet introduce and apply the doctrine of the 
atonement and intercession of Christ ; exhibiting 
it as the only available plea in the sinner's favour, 
the only foundation on which he can build any 
hopes of salvation. Never was that fine saying 
of the psalmist — mercy and truth are met together; 
righteousness and 'peace have hissed each other— 
better illustrated, than in verses 3 and 4 — 

"Lo! I cumber still the ground : 
Lo ! an Advocate is found ! " &c. 

The last line of this verse is, both in sentiment 
and in expression, exquisite and inimitable — 

" Justice lingers into love." 



130 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY; OH A COMPANION 
Verse 4 — " Kindled his relentings are," &c. 

is, throughout, so graphic, so pathetic, and so full 
of solemn and important truth, that it is scarcely 
possible to read or hear it without powerful and 
hallowed emotions. 

Hymn 175 — " God of my salvation, hear." 

In verses 3 and 4 of this fine hymn, the poet 
strongly and strikingly sets forth the sinner's im- 
potence and helplessness, his entire lack of every 
thing like goodness or strength, excellence or 
merit, and his abandonment of every plea, except 
the atonement of Christ. 

In verse 5 of Hymn 177, among many suitable 
confessions and petitions, we are taught to say — 

" Sin only let me not commit ; 
Sin never can advance thy praise." 

This is a most important sentiment, and worthy 
of all attention. Let no one imagine that sin is 
ever necessary, or that it can, under any circum- 
stances, he advantageous. To suppose that the 
glory of God may be promoted by our sin, is 
perfectly absurd: it is an opinion directly op- 
posed to the whole tenor of Scripture precepts, 
and pregnant with the most dangerous conse- 
quences. By the grace of God we may be pre- 
served from committing sin henceforward, and 
as long as we live ; and the more folly we are 
saved from sin, the more effectually will our own 
welfare be secured, and the more extensively 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMX BOOK. 131 

shall we be enabled to promote the glory and 
praise of God. 

In Hymns 184, 185, we have a beautiful and 
very instructive exhibition of the repentance of 
a believer ; of one who is freed from all guilty 
and painful fear, but is deeply humbled in the 
presence of his God, and realizes something of 
what was felt by the patriarch Job, when he 
exclaimed — I have heard of thee by the hearing of 
the ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore 
I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Such 
repentance cannot be better delineated, than in 
such lines as these— 

" My humbled soul, when thou art near, 
In dust and ashes lies ; 
How shall a sinful worm appear, 
Or meet thy purer eyes ?" 

" I loathe myself, when God I see, 
And into nothing fall ; 
Content, if thou exalted be; 
And Christ be all in all." 

" After all that I have done, 

Saviour, art thou pacified ? 
Whither shall my vileness run ? 

Hide me, earth, the sinner hide. 
Let me sink into the dust ; 

Full of holy shame, adore." 

The hymns for believers rejoicing, 189 to 264, 
are excellent in a high degree, and leave most 
compositions of this class far behind. They 
present the believer to our view in the full and 
conscious enjoyment of pardon, claiming all the 



132 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; Oft A COMPANION 

privileges to which he is graciously entitled as 
a child of God ; exulting in the triune Deity, as 
his reconciled Father, his satisfying portion, his 
covenant God ; anticipating still greater "blessings 
on earth, with eternal glory and happiness in 
heaven. 

Hymn 189 — " Now I have found the ground wherein." — 

" A glorious hymn (says Mr. Benjamin Love,) — 
it speaks the humble joy of a new-born soul. 
With what heart-felt exultation has many a poor 
mourning penitent, on first feeling the efficacy 
of the atonement, breathed out the language of 
this hymn ! The first verse expresses his new- 
found confidence ; the second embodies a deep 
sense of the tender compassion of God the Father ; 
the third seems an enraptured contemplation of 
the love of Christ. The last two lines of the third 
stanza — 

' While Jesu's blood, through earth and skies, 
Mercy, free, boundless mercy cries ' — 

contain a highly-exhilarating statement, and have 
a striking association. They were almost the last 
words of Mr. Fletcher of Madeley, whose impres- 
sion in the hour of death of the truths they con- 
tain was so strong, that his feeble voice re- 
echoed the word boundless, boundless, with sur- 
prising energy." 

Hymn 190 — " Jesus, thy blood and righteousness." — 

" Another version of this hymn (says the same 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 133 

writer) has appeared in a Moravian hynin-book ; 
but so tame, so feeble, abounding in such low 
language, that the splendid thoughts it contains 
are rendered almost ridiculous. Mr. Wesley's 
translation is worthy of the theme, and consti- 
tutes one of the finest hymns in the collection. 
Observe in the fifth stanza what a distinct allusion 
is made to his favourite doctrine of universal re- 
demption, and what an outburst it contains of 
Christian feeling. How opposed to the contracted 
doctrine which consigns myriads of souls to per- 
dition, because for them Christ never died ! " * 

Hymn 191 is a fine hymn of thanksgiving to 
the Father, from his newly-adopted child. 

Hymn 192 is a beautiful illustration of the 
righteousness of faith, according to the apostle's 
statement, Romans x. 6, 7, 8. 

Hymns 193, 194, 195 deughtfully express the 
grateful and devout feelings of a believer towards 
that Divine Saviour, to whom he is indebted for 
his redemption, and for all the blessings con- 
nected therewith. They also point out in a veiy 
instructive way the character and the offices of 
the Redeemer. 

Hymn 197 is an excellent paraphrase and ap- 
plication of that fine chapter, Isaiah xii. 

Hymns 198, 199. Such is the spirit of gratitude 
breathing through these hymns, and such the 
lively and cheerful metre in which they are 
written, that it is scarcely possible to read or 

* See Love's Records cf Wesley an Life, chapter xxix. 
N 



134 WESLEYAN HYMN0L0GY; OR A COMPANION 

hear them, without having the heart warmed 
with divine love, or without receiving some con- 
solation and benefit. The metre is one of the 
most pleasing and lively in the whole collection. 

O what j shall v l do | My Sa | vioiir to praise- 
So faith | fill and true [ So plen | teoiis in grace — 
So strong J to deliv | er So good | to redeem — 
The weak J est believ J er That hangs | upon him. 

Here each line consists of four feet : in the for- 
mer couplet, the first and third feet are either 
spondees or iambuses ; the second and fourth are 
anapaests, making in all ten syllables. In the 
latter couplet the first foot is a spondee or iambus, 
the other three are anapaests, making eleven 
syllables. There being, therefore, in the entire 
stanza ten anapaests, in which we have twenty 
short syllables, set in juxta-position with ten long 
ones, the movement is somewhat more rapid than 
usual, and the metre seems to be adapted ex- 
clusively to cheerful and joyous subjects. 

Hymn 201 — " And can it be that I should gain." — 

This very beautiful hymn, entitled originally, 
Free Grace, was composed in London by Mr. 
Charles Wesley, in May, 1738, just after he was 
first made happy in the pardoning love of God. 
(See Page 96.) It admirably expresses the 
views of the Christian believer, who is lost in 
grateful amazement, while contemplating the 
love of God manifested towards him : and it 
exactly harmonizes with the feelings and senti- 



TO THE WESLETAN HYMN BOOK, 135 

merits, by which we may suppose the inspired 
apostle to have been impressed, when he ex- 
claimed — Behold, what manner of love the Father 
hath bestowed upon us ! Verse 4 describes, in the 
most appropriate and most striking language, the 
change effected in the believer, when he passes 
from a state of guilt and condemnation into a 
state of peace and liberty : and the scene so 
graphically depicted by the poet, is an exact 
counterpart of that given by the sacred writer, 
in recording the deliverance of Peter from prison, 
through the instrumentality of an angel of the 
Lord. Acts xii. 7, 8, 9. 

Hymn 202 — " Arise, my soul, arise." — 

The third verse of this fine hymn is highly 
poetical. By a strong effort of imagination, not 
unsanctioned by scripture authority, the poet 
persuades himself that the Saviour's wounds are 
still fresh, still bleeding : then by a bold proso- 
popoeia he converts them into intelligent beings, 
and represents them as interceding with God, 
and interceding effectually on behalf of the peni- 
tent sinner. See Page 97. 

Hymn 203 — " Glory to God, whose sovereign grace." — 

This is a calm and dignified hymn of thanks- 
giving to God, for the success of the gospel, and 
was intended originally for the Kingswood 
colliers ; numbers of whom could with truth 
adopt the expressions in verses 7 and 8. It was 



136 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGYJ OR A COMPANION 

written by Mr. Charles Wesley in the midst of 
his labours about Bristol and Kingswood, in 
1740. The thought in verse 5, 

" For this the hosts above rejoice ; 
We raise the happiness of heaven" — 

is a truly astonishing one, but fully supported 
by Scripture. Our Lord assures us that there is 
joy in heaven — joy in the presence of the angels of 
God, over one sinner that repenteth. It is therefore 
just and reasonable to believe, that when many 
sinners are converted, that joy becomes greater, 
and that the happiness of heaven is actually in- 
creased by means of what takes place on earth. 

Hymn 204 might be entitled, The Christian 
Musician's Hymn. It is a fine composition, and 
pleasingly shows how the powers of the voice 
and the charms of music may be sanctified, by 
being consecrated to the Eedeemer's glory. 

Hymn 205 — "My God I am thine, v>hat a comfort divine." — 

This is the rapturous and triumphant language 
of a believer, rejoicing in his God. The liveliness 
of the metre is admirably adapted to the senti- 
ments expressed. The metre is nearly, though 
not exactly, like that of Hymns 198, 199. The 
second and the fourth lines of each stanza consist 
generally of four anapaests, containing 8 short 
and 4 long syllables ; and the recurrence of so 
many short syllables in one line makes it more 
than usually rapid and animated. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 13/ 

Hymn 206— " What am I, O thou glorious God ?" 

Here the poet beautifully expands and illustrates 
the sentiments expressed by David, 2 Samuel 
yii. 18 : applying them to the case of the Chris- 
tian believer. 

Hymn 209 — " Thou hidden source of calm repose." — 

In verses 3 and 4 of this fine hymn, we have a 
comment on the words — Christ is all and in all, 
illustrating also that other inspired saying — All 
things are yours. The poet selects various cir- 
cumstances of trial, suffering, and distress ; and 
in several striking antitheses, he points out the 
privilege and the happiness of the true Christian. 
Christ is his rest in toil — his ease in pain — his 
peace in war — his gain in loss — his liberty in 
bondage. Last of all, to complete the climax, he 
introduces the strongest and most hyperbolical of 
all the expressions employed, declaring that 
Jesus is his heaven in hell. All the other expres- 
sions in these verses may be understood literally, 
as referring to possible events, and to circum- 
stances through which many of the disciples of 
Christ have actually had to pass. But this last 
expression can be understood only in a figurative 
way. It cannot be applied to the place or state 
of eternal torment, which we usually designate 
by the term hell : but must be considered as im- 
plying merely a place or a state of the greatest 
bodily suffering, or the most distressing exercises 
of mind, not connected with a guilty conscience. 
N 2 



138 WESLEYAN hymxology; or a companion 

Such circumstances might be regarded as con- 
stituting a local or temporary hell; and if a 
Christian belieYer were so situated, he would still 
haYe a heaven of peace and comfort in his soul ; 
and thus he might truly affirm that Christ is his 
heaven in hell. 

Hymn 210—" Thee will I love, my strength, my tower."— 

Here the poet starts with the royal Psalmist's 
pious resolution, Psalm xYiii. 1 ; which resolu- 
tion is beautifully amplified, extended through 
the diversified scenes of human life, and con- 
nected with grateful acknowledgments of the past 
favours of his God, as also with fervent prayers 
for his continued support and blessing. 

Hymn 213— " My God, the spring of all my joys."— 

This is one of the most delightful hymns ever 
written by Dr. "Watts, and has in it more of sound 
religious experience, than is found in the majority 
of his compositions. Among the truly pious it 
is a universal favourite, and deservedly so. 

Hymn 214 — "Talk with us, Lord, thyself reveal." — 

A fine hymn, originally intended for use on a 
journey. The idea and the expression in verse 
2 are borrowed from Milton ; who represents Eve 
as saying, in one of her addresses to Adam, — 

" With thee conversing, I forget all time, 
All seasons and their change ; all please alike." 

But how is the sentiment elevated and dignified, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 139 

when Christian believers are taught, in approach- 
ing their heavenly Father, to say — 

" With thee conversing, we forget 
All time, and toil, and care ; 
Labour is rest, and pain is sweet, 
If thou, my God, art here." 

Hymn 216 — " Infinite, unexhausted love !" 

In the second verse of this excellent hymn, the 
poet having referred to the length, and breadth, 
and height, and depth of sovereign grace, agreeably 
to the apostle's language, Ephesians iii. 18, pro- 
ceeds to illustrate those ideas. At the same time 
he takes care to show that by sovereign grace, he 
does not mean what some do, when they use the 
expression; he does not mean partial grace, 
limited grace, grace bestowed in an arbitrary 
way on a favourite few, but withh olden from the 
great bulk of mankind; but that grace which 
God exhibits, as a wise, just, and merciful 
sovereign, in and through Christ Jesus ; that 
grace which is infinite and universal. The length 
of this grace he shows hi verse 3 ; its breadth or 
width, verse 4 ; its height, verse 5 ; its depth, 
verses 6, 7. There is some little confusion of 
metaphors in the last verse, where we are taught 
to pray — 

" And sink me to perfection's height, 
The depth of humble love." 

The height of scriptural perfection and the depth 
of humble love are identical ; so that he who 



140 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OK A COMPANION 

realizes the one, cannot be a stranger to the 
other. Now we may raise a person to a height, 
or sink him into a depth ; but we cannot, in strict 
propriety of language, speak of sinking any one 
to a height. In some editions the third line 
appears thus — 

" And raise me to perfection's height. " 

The meaning of the petition, however, is plain 
enough, and is just the same, whether we say 
sink or raise. 

Hymn 218 — " See how great a flame aspires." 
219—" All thanks be to God." 

These are two very animated and delightful 
hymns, in which we are taught to praise God for 
the past success of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
and to anticipate its universal triumph in our 
own country and through all the earth. They 
are exceedingly well adapted to missionary ser- 
vices. Hymn 218 was probably written during 
the period of Mr. Charles Wesley's labours in 
and about Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1746. The 
imagery in the first verse may have been sug- 
gested by the large fires connected with the 
collieries, which illuminate the whole of that 
neighbourhood, even in the darkest nights. In 
the last verse the circumstance of the little cloud 
rising out of the sea and followed by abundance 
of rain, (1 Kings xviii. 44, 45,) is most beautifully 
applied to the general effusion of the Holy Spirit. 
Hymn 219 was composed by Mr. Charles Wesley 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 141 

at Gwennap in Cornwall, August 11, 1746. On 
the Sabbath he had preached, with the power and 
demonstration of the Spirit, to vast multitudes — 
estimated at nine or ten thousand — who listened 
to him with all eagerness. His discourse lasted 
nearly two hours; and he broke out again and 
again in prayer and exhortation. Seventy years' 
suffering, he thought, would have been overpaid 
by one such opportunity.* The next day he 
poured out the grateful and devout feelings of 
his soul in this admirable hymn. 

Hymn 220 — " All glory to God in the sky." — 

This is a hymn of high poetical merit. The 
writer first contemplates the nativity of Christ; 
then appeals to the now glorified Saviour, to 
come again and set up his kingdom on the earth ; 
and beautifully sketches the blessed consequences 
that will result from the universal establishment 
of that kingdom. In the latter part of verse 2 — ■ 

" Receiving its Lord from above, 
The world was united to "bless 
The Giver of concord and love, 
The Prince and the Author of peace" — 

the poet alludes to the fact, that at the time of 
our Lord's nativity the whole world was literally 
at peace. That very year, the gates of the temple 
of Janus at Rome, always left open dining war, 
were shut by order of the emperor Augustus : an 
event which happened only three times during a 

* Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. page 442. 



142 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

period of more than seven hundred years. For a 
time the din of war was hushed ; the various 
nations and tribes had laid down the weapons of 
destruction : all were quiet, and ready, as it were, 
to hail the advent of the Prince of peace, the 
Eedeemer of the world. The metre of this hymn 
is very happily chosen, and the diction is smooth 
and harmonious. 

Hymn 221 is a noble hymn of praise, in which 
the church militant on earth is taught to vie 
with the church triumphant in heaven, in ascrib- 
ing glory to the triune Deity. 

Hymn 222 is one of the fine compositions 
intended originally for the Watch-night services, 
which were usually protracted a little beyond the 
still and solemn hour of midnight. This con- 
sideration will show the reason and the propriety 
of some of the expressions here used : such as, 

" Our day is spent in doing good ; 
Our night in praise and prayer." 

*' The winter's night, and summer's day 
Glide imperceptibly away." 

On these occasions a considerable part of the 
night was literally spent in praise and prayer ; 
and numbers of those who attended, would, no 
doubt, find the winter's night gliding imper- 
ceptibly away, while engaged in such hallowed 
exercises. 

Hymn 223— " When Israel out of Egypt came."— 

This is a beautiful paraphrase of that most sub- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 143 

lime composition, Psalm cxiv., and is a very fine 
specimen of sacred poetry. It appears in an 
edition of the works of Andrew Marvell, in 3 vols, 
quarto, published in 1776 ; and is said to haye 
been found among Marvell' s other poems, either 
written by himself, or copied by his direction. 
Marvell was a cotemporary of Milton ; and when 
the latter filled the office of Latin Secretary to 
the protector, Cromwell, Marvell was his assist- 
ant. He died in 1678, and the first edition of 
his works was published in 2 vols. 12mo., in 
1726. 

Hymn 224 — " I'll praise my Maker, while I've breath." 

This is a fine paraphrase of Psalm cxlvi. 2, &c, 
and is connected with some very interesting asso- 
ciations relative to the last days of that venerable 
and apostolic man, the Eev. John Wesley. 

Two days before his death, when, for the last 
time, he was about to rise from, his bed and have 
his clothes put on, he broke out in a manner 
which, considering his extreme weakness, aston- 
ished all present, singing 

" I'll praise my Maker while I've breath." 
And during the last night of his earthly existence, 
summoning up all his remaining strength, he 
exclaimed again and again, " I'll praise," " I'll 
praise," not being able to finish the line. Thus 
did he enter most fully into the spirit of the 
Psalmist's devout and grateful resolution; con- 
tinuing to praise his God till his voice was 



144 WESLEYAN HYMN0L0GY J OR A COMPANION 

literally lost in death, and his ransomed spirit 
took its flight to those mansions of bliss, where 
all the inhabitants are perpetually engaged in 
singing the praises of G-od and the Lamb. 

Hymn 226 — " Eternal wisdom ! thee we praise. 1 ' — 

This is, perhaps without exception, the finest 
descriptive hymn that the excellent Watts ever 
wrote. It is full of splendid poetical images. 
The blue tinge of the sky, the sparkling gold of 
the stars, the noisy winds sweeping along with 
then soanding wings, the thunder and lightning, 
constituting the trumpet and the banners of 
Jehovah's host, the fruitful showers hanging on 
the thin air and then dropping their fatness, the 
earth with its cheerful green, its herbs and its 
flowers, the sea with its rough mountains and its 
steep billows, the blazing glories of the Divine 
Architect, his strength and his skill — these, 
altogether, form a panorama of unrivalled beauty. 
And to crown the whole, the poet at the close in- 
troduces the blessed Redeemer, and leads us to 
gaze on the divine benevolence, as exhibited in 
Jesus Christ. Such a conclusion stamps a Chris- 
tian character on the whole of this transcendently- 
beautiful composition. 

Hymn 227 is specially calculated to be used at 
the close of the day, when we are about to he 
down, and it exhibits, in a most delightful way, 
the peace, the security, and the confidence of the 
true Christian. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 145 

Hymn 228 is a beautiful delineation of Chris- 
tian experience, and is well adapted to the state 
of one who is hungering and thirsting after 
righteousness. 

Hymns 229, 230, 231 are three very fine birth- 
day hymns. Hymn 230 is part, four verses out of 
ten, of a hymn composed by Mr. Charles Wesley, 
on his own birth-day, 18th December, 1741. 
Hymn 231 was also composed by him on his 
birth-day, probably in 1751. This last-mentioned 
hymn exhibits the grateful and holy exultation of 
a minister of the gospel, in contemplating the 
success of his labours ; his determination to give 
the glory to God alone, and to consecrate all his 
strength and all his life to so blessed a cause. 
Some of the verses are strikingly appropriate, 
when applied to the founder of Methodism ; par- 
ticularly the beautiful adaptation of Jacob's words 
— with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and 
now I am become two bands — to the spread of that 
great work of God, not only throughout the 
British isles, but on the American continent. 

"With my pastoral crook, I went over the brook, 
And behold ! I am spread into bands." 

The cheerful and lively metre accords admirably 
with the sentiments of the hymn. It is anapaestic, 
and differs from that of Hymn 205 only in this 
respect ; that the second and fourth lines of each 
stanza contain each three anapaests, instead of 
four, — 



146 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 

Frbm JSho | v&h «I came | F5r his glo | ry« M I am, 
"And tb him \ °I with sing J ing return. 

Here the short syllables being twice as numerous 
as the long ones, the movement is rapid, and the 
metre eminently cheerful and joyous. 



CHAPTER VII. 

REMARKS ON VARIOUS HYMNS, CONTINUED. 

Hymss 232 to 264 are nearly all of a general 
nature, and are better adapted than most of the 
other hymns for public worship ; there being in 
them but few expressions that may not safely be 
put into the mouths of a promiscuous congrega- 
tion. They treat mostly of the wisdom, power, 
justice, holiness, and benevolence of God ; always 
making his benevolence and love particularly 
prominent, and referring to the work of redemp- 
tion as the most glorious exhibition and proof of 
that love. 

Hymn 232 is a beautiful and spirited para- 
phrase of Psalm cxlviii. 12, 13; in which the 
doctrine of the Holy Trinity is interwoven with 
the invitation to all creatures to unite in praise 
and thanksgiving. 

Hymns 235, 236, 237 constitute one of the 
finest paraphrases of the Lord's prayer ever com- 
posed, and are some of the few original com- 
positions of the Eev. John Wesley. 

Hymns 240, 241, on the attributes of God, are 
grand and dignified, solemn and devout. " This 
is (says Mr. Love) an awe-inspiring hymn ; 



148 wesleyan iiymnology; or a companion 

serious without being heavy ; bold without being 
extravagant. Either to sing or read it devoutly 
brings God so immediately before one, that the 
mind becomes filled with adoring awe. After 
descriptions of the vast power of Jehovah, of his 
providence and goodness and wisdom ; and after 
representing justice and truth as standing before 
him, how delightfully the following lines are 
introduced — 

" Yet nearer to thy sacred throne, 
Mercy withholds thy lifted hand."* 

Two lines in this hymn are borrowed from Brady 
and Tate's version of Psalm ciii. 

11 Thy waken'd wrath doth slowly move, 
Thy willing mercy flies apace." 

When this fine hymn, or any part of it, is used 
for public worship, the last four lines of verse 1, 
beginning — " While thee, all-infinite, I set," should 
by all means be omitted. (See Page 124.) 

Hymns 242, 243, 244, 245 are all excellent, 
instructive, and encouraging. The metre in which 
they are written has a perpetual alternation of 
short and long syllables, but with a majority of the 
latter. Each couplet consists of thirteen syllables, 
seven long and six short; with this exception, that 
the latter line of the third couplet, or the sixth 
line of the hymn, has one, or, in some hymns, two 
additional syllables. Thus in Hymn 243 — 

Thott | my u God | &rt good j and wise, 
°And in [ finite [ In power. 

* See Love's Records of Wesleyan Life. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 149 

Thii'd couplet — 

Give | me thy | convert | ing grace, 
That | "I may | obe j dient prove. 

Third couplet in Hymn 245 — 

New | they eve [ ry° morn ( ing are, 

u As fa j thers when j their child | ren cry. 

The metre difTers greatly from the anapaestic 
metres of Hymns 198, 205, 219, 231, and the like. 
It is more stately and dignified; and though often 
employed for cheerful subjects, for p>raise and 
thanksgiving, it may he advantageously applied 
to the most grave and solemn purposes ; of which 
we have striking proof in Hymns 54, 61, 548, 552. 

Hymn 246 is a beautiful adaptation of the 
grateful Psalmist's language, Psalm cxvi. 8, 9 — 
to the Christian believer. 

Hymn 247 is a fine exposition of part of 
Hannah's prayer, 1 Samuel ii. 2. 

Hymn 248 is an excellent paraphrase of David's 
thanksgiving, 1 Chronicles xxix. 10 to 13, and 
these admirable sentiments are thoroughly chris 
tianized by the concluding verse, in which the 
poet teaches us to say, — 

" And all the deity is ours, 
Through thy incarnate Son." 

Hymns 249, 250 are founded on that fine pas- 
sage, Exodus xxxiv. 5, 6, 7 — and many of the 
thoughts are borrowed from Matthew Henry's 
expository notes upon it. These hymns, with 
several others of those in the present collection, 
o 2 



150 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OB A COMPANION 

first appeared in two volumes, published by Mr. 
Charles Wesley in 1762, under the title of 
" Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy 
Scriptures." 

Hymns 251 to 262 are specially valuable as 
furnishing clear and correct views of the doctrine 
of the Holy Trinity. They point out the distinct 
work of each of the Divine Persons, in accom- 
phshing the salvation of fallen man ; and show 
how closely the belief of that doctrine is inter- 
woven with the whole experience of the true 
Christian. 

In Hymn 254, we have an expression, which to 

some appears objectionable — 

" Who trust the blood of God to cjeanse 
Our souls from every sinful stain." — 

There are also a few instances in which death 
is predicated, absolutely and directly, of God. 
Thus in 

Hymn 27— "Tis done! My God hath died"— 
Hymn 28 — " The immortal God hath died for me " — 
Hymn 470 — " In daily prayer to God commend 

The souls whom God expired to save" — 
Hymn 614 — " God for a guilty world hath died" — 

Believing most firmly the true and proper deity 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, some persons have, 
nevertheless, doubted the propriety of employing 
such language ; their objection being not to the 
sentiment, but merely to the expression. Perhaps 
it may be vindicated on the ground of the hypo- 
static union which existed in Christ, and which 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 15 L 

combined deity and humanity in one person. 
Hence actions or qualities proper only to deity, 
are sometimes in Scripture connected with human 
titles ; as when Christ spoke of the Son of man, 
which is in heaven, while he was conversing with 
Nicodemus on earth. And actions or sufferings 
proper only to humanity, are connected with divine 
titles ; as when the apostle Paul exhorted the 
elders or bishops of the church at Ephesus, to 
feed the church of God, which he hath purchased 
with his own blood. Whatever was done or suffered 
by Him who could say with truth — I and the 
Father are one, and he that hath seen me, hath 
seen the Father — may, on this ground, be affirmed 
of God : though it would perhaps be better to 
avoid expressions which are not fully and un- 
equivocally sanctioned by the phraseology of 
Scripture. 

Hymn 256 beautifully connects the doctrine of 
the Trinity with the original creation of man, 
with the work of redemption, and with the state 
of man, as restored to the favour and image of 
his God. 

Hymn 257 is an elegant versification of that 
fine passage in the Communion Service, begin- 
ning — Glory be to God on high, &c. Nothing can 
be better adapted for public worship. 

Hymn 260 is a composition of great excellence 
and beauty, the diction being eminently choice 
and harmonious. The latter part of verse 2 is 
specially worthy of notice— 



152 wesleyax hymnology; or a companion 

" Thee while man, the earth-horn, sings, 
Angels shrink within their wings ; 
Prostrate Seraphim above 
Breathe unutterable love." 

The harsh word shrink is remarkably apposite, as 
conveying some impression of the solemn awe, 
approaching to terror, with which the holy angels 
are sometimes affected, when gazing on the glories 
of the Godhead : and the two following lines are 
exquisitely soft and "beautiful. There are the 
seraphim ; hut what is then posture ? They are 
not standing up, hold and unabashed; they are not 
satisfied with concealing themselves behind their 
wings ; no — they fall prostrate before the Triune 
God. They are full of love, but they do not 
attempt to give utterance to their feelings ; all 
they can do is, to breathe out silently their adora- 
tions and praises ; and their very breath is love — 
unutterable love — love to Him who is himself 
essential and infinite love. Here indeed we have 
noble thoughts, conveyed in fine and appropriate 
language. 

Hymn 262 — "A thousand oracles divine." — 

A very spirited and elegant hymn. The poet first 
of all unites angels and men in the delightful 
work of worshipping and glorifying God, their 
common Maker and King. But coming to the 
subject of God made flesh, this he claims as belong- 
ing specially and properly to man, and therefore 
invites the most exalted seraphs to look clown on 
poor ransomed worms, for heaven s superior praise. 
The redemption of fallen man through the incar- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 153 

nation of the Lord Jesus Christ will indeed furnish 
the noblest of all themes, the most fruitful subject 
for praise and adoration, among the heavenly 
hosts : it is this that will raise the gratitude and 
love and joy of those holy creatures to the highest 
degree. The sentiments and some of the ex- 
pressions in this fine hymn exactly correspond 
with those of Dr. Young; who, in a splendid 
passage of his Night Thoughts, (Night iv. line 
437, &c.,) speaking of redemption, and of the 
holy angels, says — 

" ► . . . this theme is man's, and man's alone; 
Their vast appointments reach it not : they see 
On earth a bounty not indulg'd on high, 
And downward look for Heaven's superior praise. 
First-born of ether ! high in fields of light ! 
View man, to see the glory of your God ! ' ' 

Hymns 266, 267, 268 are an admirable exposi- 
tion of the apostle's language, Ephesians vi. 10 to 
18. They represent the Christian soldier in his 
complete armour, fighting against all his enemies, 
and coming off more than conqueror, through his 
Saviours mighty aid. In the second and thud of 
these hymns, the duties of faith and prayer are 
particularly enforced, in a variety of pithy and 
sententious sayings. 

Hymn 272— " Peace, doubting heart! my God's I am." 
A very excellent hymn, abounding in scriptural 
images and metaphors, and full of instruction and 
encouragement for the child of God. The tried 
and tempted Christian passes through the deep, 
but is not overwhelmed; he goes through the fire, 



154 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY ; OK A COMPANION 

but is not burned ; he walks on the sea, and is 
upborne by the waves. In verse 6 the poet takes 
the words of authority, addressed by our Saviour 
to the winds and the sea, — Peace : be still, — and 
beautifully applies them to the circumstances of his 
tempted followers, and lo! there is a sudden calm. 
Finally he seizes the emblem of the burning bush 
which Moses saw, which binned with fire but was 
not consumed, as typifying the final deliverance 
and glorification of the suffering saint. 

In Hymn 275 we have a fine application and use 
of the doctrine contained in Psalm ex. 1. 2. We 
are here taught that our sins are Christ's enemies; 
and being led to contemplate his character as our 
Advocate above, his supreme authority over all 
creatines, and the Father's will and purpose that 
all his foes shall be subdued beneath him, we are 
encouraged to seek and expect a complete salva- 
tion from sin, through faith in our almighty 
Redeemer. 

Hymn 276 — " Worship and thanks and blessing." 

This is a very elegant and spirited hymn of grati- 
tude and praise for deliverance in a time of perse- 
cution and danger ; and was written after one of 
those tumults which were frequently excited by 
intolerant and ungodly men, in the early days of 
Methodism. The metre is very uncommon, and 
remarkably animated. It has a perpetual alter- 
nation of short and long syllables, but with a 
majority of the former; and. seems to be adapted 
exclusively to a joyous and triumphant strain. 

Hymn 277— " Jesus, the conqueror, reigns.''— 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 155 

In this truly magnificent hymn, the Christian 
soldier is encouraged to light on, in confident 
expectation of final Yictory, under the banner of 
his triumphant and glorified Captain. To stimu- 
late him, the starry crown is represented as seen 
by the eye of faith, glittering through the skies, 
and held out as the gracious reward of the 
conqueror. 

In Hymn 278 the circumstances of the combat 
between David and Goliath are finely applied to 
the conflicts of the Christian with his spiritual 
foes, and his coming off more than conqueror 
through faith in the grace and power of Christ. 

Hymn 279— " Shall I, for fear of feeble man."— 

This hymn might be well employed as a test, 
whereby to examine a minister of Jesus Christ, 
as to his fidelity in discharging the duties of his 
sacred office. It is the soliloquy of a devoted 
preacher of the gospel, or of a Christian mission- 
ary labouring in foreign lands ; who, in spite of 
frowns and menaces, reproaches and persecutions, 
perseveres in his arduous work, animated by a 
high degree of zeal for the glory of God, and by 
ardent love for the perishing souls of his fellow- 
creatures. 

Hymn 281 — " Are there not in the labourer's day.*' — 
282 — " But can it be, that I should prove." — 

These hymns are admirably adapted to the case of 
the Christian pressing onward in the path of duty, 
amidst conflicts and discouragements, difficulties 
and dangers, but still trusting in his God and 
Saviour. Some of the expressions are veiy strong, 



156 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

and cany us far beyond the expectations, and, in 
fact, beyond the desires, of many professors — 

" Not all the powers of hell can fright 
A soul that walks with Christ in light ; 
He walks, and cannot fall.'' — 
" And I, who dare thy word receive, 

Without committing sin shall live." 
" While still to thee for help I call, 
Thou wilt not suffer me to fall, 
Thou canst not let me sin." 

This language, however, may be justified by the 
sayings of the inspired apostle — Whosoever abideth 
in him, sinneth not — whosoever is born of God, doth 
not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and 
he cannot sin, because he is born of God. And it 
should be observed, that the poet makes these 
strong assertions exclusively concerning him who 
walks with Christ, who labours zealously to do the 
divine will, who puts all his confidence in God, 
and calls on him continually for help : that is, con- 
cerning the loving, obedient believer, who continues 
instant in prayer. To such characters only can this 
language be safely applied. 

In Hymns 283, 284 the poet makes a profitable 
application of the prayer of Moses — I beseech thee, 
shew me thy glory — and of the promise given in 
consequence of that prayer. At the same time 
he points out the superior privileges bestowed, * 
under the gospel dispensation, on all time be- 
lievers ; who are more favoured than the saints of 
ancient days. 

Hvmn 287 is a beautiful evening hymn, in 



TO THE WESLEl r AN HYMN BOOK. 157 

which the Christian claims the special care and 
protection of Divine Providence, during the 
defenceless hours of sleep. 

Hymns 289, 290, 291 are particularly adapted 
to seasons of temptation, perplexity, and distress. 

Hymn 293 represents the Christian pilgrim, 
journeying through the wilderness of this world 
toward the heavenly Canaan, fighting valiantly 
under the command of the Captain of his sal- 
vation, and triumphing over lust and passion, 
appetite and pride, and all his spiritual foes; even 
as Israel of old triumphed over the gigantic and 
formidable sons of Anak. 

Hymn 294 — " Jesus, thou sovereign Lord of all." — 

A fine hymn on the necessity and the efficacy of 
prayer. One of the expressions in verse 4 is 
remarkably strong — " To urge our God -com- 
manding plea," — but the authority for this idea 
is found in Isaiah xlv. 11, where Jehovah, the 
Holy One of Israel and his Maker, says, — Con- 
cerning the tvorJc of my hands, command ye me. In 
the last verse we are taught to sing, — 

" We ask the constant power to pray ; 
Indulge us, Lord, in this request, 
Thou canst not then deny the rest." 

When we consider the great and comprehensive 
promises of blessings to be bestowed in answer 
to prayer, it is not too much to affirm, that if we 
only obtain the gift of the indwelling Spirit and 
the constant power to pray, asking the Father 
in the name of Jesus Christ, no request that we 
offer, will or can be denied. 
p 



158 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 
Hymn 298 — " O wondrous power of faithful prayer ! " — 

This hymn beautifully illustrates the efficacy of 
prayer, as exemplified in the case of Moses in- 
terceding for the Israelites. God was greatly 
displeased with his people because of their sin in 
worshipping the golden calf, and was about to 
punish them in the most awful way. Hence he 
said to Moses — Let me alone, that my wrath may 
wax hot against them, and that I may consume them. 
This language evidently implied, that God could 
not proceed in his work of punishment, unless 
Moses would let him alone, unless Moses would 
refrain from praying and interceding on behalf of 
his brethren. So undoubtedly Moses understood 
it ; and therefore, instead of sitting down quietly, 
and leaving matters to take their course, he betook 
himself to earnest prayer, pleaded with all his 
might, and did not desist, till the Lord repented 
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. 
Thus by the prayers of Moses the hands of Om- 
nipotence were tied, and Jehovah himself could 
not resist the importunate and believing inter- 
cessions of his servant. From this the poet 
naturally passes on to the all-prevalent interces- 
sion of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 2 we 
have a very strong expression — 

" My Son is in my servant's prayer, 
And Jesus forces me to spare." 

To some this language may appear objectionable, 
as giving countenance to the notion, which the 
Socinians unjustly associate with the doctrine of 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 159 

the atonement of Christ; namely, that the Father 
is reluctant to display his mercy towards sinners, 
being more inclined to the rigour of justice ; and 
that there is more benevolence in the Son, than 
in the Father. But it should be remembered, 
that it was a display of infinite benevolence in 
the Father to devise a plan for the recovery of 
fallen man, and to give his only begotten Son to 
cany that plan into effect. For our redemption 
and salvation we are as much indebted to the 
compassionate provisions of the Father, as to the 
meritorious undertakings of the Son. All the 
meaning that we can properly attach to the ex- 
pression, is, that the Father will not and cannot 
disregard the intercession of the Son. Through 
him and for his sake, he will spare the guilty. 

Hymn 299—" Jesus, thou hast bid us pray." — 

This hymn beautifully applies the first promise 
of a Saviour ever given to fallen man, Genesis iii. 
15 ; and teaches the Christian to plead earnestly 
with the Redeemer for the accomplishment of his 
own proper work, in bruising the head of the 
infernal serpent. Accordingly, the burden of 
every verse is, 

" O avenge us of our foe, 
And bruise the serpent's head." 

Hymn 300 proposes the Saviour himself as a 
model, to be imitated by his disciples. It teaches 
us to pray that we may have in us a zeal for God, 
a pity for mankind, a burning charity, similar to 



160 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OE A COMPANION 

that which dwelt in him; so shall that mind be 
in us, which was also in Christ Jesus. 

Hymn 301 specifies in detail several of the 
most important blessings essential to out* spiritual 
prosperity. Were we to consider the Eedeemer 
as proposing to any of us the same enquiry, as 
he did to one of old — What wilt thou, that I should 
do unto thee ? — we might here find an appropriate 
and a comprehensive answer. 

Hymn 302 is an excellent prayer for simplicity 
and humility. 

Hymn 304 is a fine and profitable application 
of some of our Lord's beatitudes ; in which we 
are taught to pray for poverty of spirit, for meek- 
ness, for a hungering and thirsting after right- 
eousness, for a merciful disposition, for purity of 
heart, and for a sanctified use of persecutions and 
afflictions. 

The hymns for believers watching, 305 to 320, 
possess a high degree of excellence. Nothing can 
be better adapted to the state of the Christian 
who is properly alive to his danger, standing on 
his guard against all his spiritual foes, conscious 
of his own feebleness and insufficiency, and look- 
ing for constant supplies of wisdom, grace, and 
strength from above. 

Hymn 307 — " God of all grace arid majesty." — 

This hymn admirably describes the humble, 
self-distrusting frame of mind, suitable to the 
Christian believer; who, while living in the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 101 

enjoyment of the divine favour, does not abuse 
his privileges, does not pervert the grace of God 
to licentious purposes ; bat maintains a godly 
jealousy over himself. Yerse 5 is one of peculiar 
beauty, both in sentiment and in diction. 

Hymn 308—" I want a principle within." — 

In verse 3 of this fine and instructive hymn, 
the poet introduces one of his strong and bold 
expressions — 

" And let me weep my life away, 
For having grieved thy love." 

Perhaps all that is intended, is, Let me always, 
even to the end of life, retain an humbling and 
a sorrowful recollection of my past folly and 
unfaithfulness. Such feelings will tend to show 
the propriety of the apostolical sentiment in 
reference to true Christians — as sorrowful, yet 
always rejoicing. And the language of the poet, 
when thus understood, implies nothing more 
than what is expressed, Ezekiel xvi. 63 — that 
thou may est remember and be confounded, and 
never open thy mouth any more because of thy 
shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that 
thou hast done, saith the Lord God. 

Hymn 314 — " Hark ! how the watchmen cry." — 
Hymn 315 — "Angels your march oppose." — 

These are two noble hymns, breathing the true 
spirit of the Christian warrior. The ministers 
of the gospel are represented as the watchmen 
and the standard-bearers, summoning the forces 
p 2 



162 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGYJ OP. A COMPANION 

of Emmanuel to the holy war ; and faithful 
Christians, as following Jesus, the captain of 
their salvation, and in his name triumphing over 
Satan and all the powers of darkness. There is 
great beauty and strength of diction in both these 
hymns. In the last stauza of Hymn 314, there 
is a vehemence of expression and a harshness of 
sound, which accord remarkably well with the 
sentiments expressed, as to the expulsion of the 
disobedient angels from heaven. 

" From thrones of glory driven, 

By flaming vengeance hurled, 
They throng the air, and darken heaven, 

And rule the lower world." 

What a striking contrast do these Hues present 
to the easy, smooth and gentle now of the pre- 
ceding verse ! — 

"All power to him is given ; 
He ever reigns the same j 
Salvation, happiness, and heaven 
Are all in Jesu's name." 

In verse 3 of Hymn 315, we have two remark 
able lines — 

" By all hell's host withstood, 
We all hell's host o'erthrow." 

Here, instead of the regular movement of three 
iambuses, each consisting of a short syllable 
followed by a long one, we have in the first line, 
an iambus, a spondee, an iambus ; in the second 
line, an iambus and two spondees — 

By all | hell's host J withstood 
We all I hell's host I o'erthrow. 



TO THE WE5LEYAN HYMN BOOK IGo 

The three consecutive long syllables — all hell's 
host — comprising two strongly-aspirated words — 
hell's — host — give an appropriate harshness to 
these lines, so that it is somewhat difficult to 
read them, and we are compelled to do it in a 
slow, cautious, and solemn way, adm ir ably com- 
porting with the idea of a laborious and successful 
opposition to our spiritual foes. 

Some have thought that the union of the 
epithets meek and angry, as applied to the Lamb 
of God in verse 3, is rather incongruous — 

11 Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb, 
A lion is in fight." 

Meekness, patience, gentleness, are certainly the 
usual characteristics of the lamb, and those with 
which we commonly invest the Redeemer, when 
we contemplate him under that emblem. And 
yet it must be remembered, that in the same 
portion of Holy Writ, in which Jesus Christ is 
represented as the Lamb that was slain, we also 
read of the wrath of the Lamb. Gracious and 
benevolent and merciful as we know the Redeemer 
to be, there are nevertheless those towards whom, 
in the final judgment, he will manifest his wrath ; 
and when the great day of his wrath shall come, 
who then shall be able to stand ? Then will the 
Lamb, once slain, appear as the Lion of the tribe 
of Judah, and to all his enemies he will be incon- 
ceivably terrible. 

Hymn 316 — "Eternal Power, whose high abode." — 



164 WESLEYAN HYMN'OLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

This excellent hymn by Dr. Watts, is admirably 
descriptive of the reverential awe and profound 
abasement of soul, with which our devotional 
exercises ought to be conducted. In it the un- 
paralleled glory and majesty of Jehovah are 
finely contrasted with earth and ashes, sin and 
dust ; and the most exalted creatures in the uni- 
verse are represented, in perfect accordance with 
Scripture, as hiding then faces and falling pros- 
trate before the Almighty. There is a thought 
in the first verse, which is truly sublime, and 
deserving of more particular notice. The high 
abode of the Eternal is described as being, 

" Infinite lengths beyond the bounds, 
Where stars revolve their little rounds." 

Now what are those rounds of the stars, which 
are here denominated little? The term stars 
may be properly understood as including all 
the heavenly bodies, exclusive of the sun and 
the moon ; as it is evidently to be taken in the 
Mosaic account of the creation, Genesis i. 16. 
And what are the orbits of these bodies ? Some 
of them are so amazingly extensive, that although 
we can express their dimensions in figures and 
in words, the human mind cannot form any 
adequate idea thereof, but is overwhelmed and 
bewildered by the subject. The orbit of the 
planet Jupiter stretches over a portion of space 
nearly a thousand millions of miles in diameter ; 
that of Saturn is about 1800 millions of miles 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 165 

in diameter, and that of Herschell about 3609 
millions of miles. One of the comets whose 
appearances have been particularly noticed, and 
its term calculated with a considerable degree of 
accuracy, is known to take seventy-five years in 
going through its irregular orbit round the sun; 
and how many thousands of millions of miles it 
travels in that period, who can say? Yet all 
these astonishing and inconceivably -extensile 
fields of space, compared with which the greatest 
distances that can be measured on our terra- 
queous globe, are like a grain of sand to the 
whole earth, or a drop of water to the whole 
ocean — even these, vast and all-but-unbounded as 
they are, our poet presumes to call little rounds ! 
In themselves, and as far as we are ca}mble of 
forming any judgment concerning them, they are 
great, immense, amazing rounds ; but as compared 
with the ever-blessed God, they are little and in- 
significant; for finite compared with innnite, the 
creatine compared with the Creator, must always 
be little. 

Hymn 318 — " A charge to keep I have." — 

A very solemn and weighty composition ; well 
calculated to arouse the most careless and stupid, 
to sound an alarm in the ears of the sleeping 
shmer, and to stimulate the believer to greater 
diligence and zeal. 

The hymns for believers working, 321 to 328, 
are highly instructive, and point out the spirit 



166 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

and temper in which Christians ought to prose- 
cute all their worldly engagements. While we 
are employed in domestic cares, or in public con- 
cerns of any description, it would be well were 
we always to familiarize ourselves with the senti- 
ments and feelings here expressed. Some of the 
expressions in Hymns 321, 322, 325, are very 
strong, and imply the possession of a high degree 
of grace — 

" End of my every action thou ; 

In all things thee I see." 
" And all I think, or speak, or do 

Is one great sacrifice." 
" Every work I do below, 

1 do it to the Lord." 

But this is unquestionably the calling and the 
privilege of every disciple of Christ; and when 
we have made a full surrender of our hearts to 
him who has bought us with a price — when we 
love our God supremely, and the life that we live 
in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God — 
then we may, with propriety and truth, adopt 
such language as our own. If we have not yet 
attained these blessings, we should turn such 
expressions into petitions, and earnestly pray that 
we may soon realise all that is implied therein. 

Hymn 325 is a very beautiful and instructive 
composition. They who are much occupied in 
domestic concerns and in secular engagements, 
may advantageously refer to it as a standard, 
whereby to regulate their experience and practice. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 167 

It shows how we may go through all our duties 
in a truly Christian spirit, and how, in the midst 
of outward excitement and tumult, we may pre 
serve inward tranquillity and peace. 

In Hymn 326 the poet considers the Israelites 
passing through the wilderness towards the 
promised land, as emblematic al of the people of 
God, travelling through the wilderness of this 
world toward the heavenly Canaan, guided and 
protected by the providence and by the Spirit of 
God. That divine Personage who aj^peared of 
old to Joshua, declaring himself to be the Captain 
of the Lord's host, is still present with his faithful 
and obedient people ; and, with such a friend 
and protector, they have nothing to fear. The 
meaning of one line in verse 2, has by some been 
mis apprehended — 

" We shall not full direction need." 

Some have supposed these words to mean — We 
shall not need full direction; that is, we shall 
need only partial and occasional direction, not 
such as is full and constant. Whereas the poet's 
intention undoubtedly was, to use the verb need 
in the sense of lacking, being destitute of — that 
is, we shall not lack full direction — we shall 
not be destitute of it — we shall not be left 
without it: in other words, we shall have full 
direction; such directiqn as is complete, suffi- 
cient, constant. 

Hymn 328 — " When quiet in my house I sit." — 

This is a very fine hymn on the excellency of the 



168 WESLEYAN hymnologt; oe a companion 

Holy Scriptures, and on then proper use and 
application. Verse 3 possesses a more than 
ordinary degree of poetical beauty, and is rather 
too refined and elevated for general or indis- 
crhninate use. Delightful indeed is the picture 
of the Christian, as here sketched by the masterly 
hand of our poet. In the evening he lies down 
to rest, composing himself on the bosom of his 
Lord, and sinks away to sleep in blissful dreams 
and visions; then in the morning he rises to 
publish his Saviour's praise, his tongue and his 
heart are filled with the word of grace, his life is 
filled with holy love, and thus he is preparing 
to join the church triumphant. 

The Hymns for believers suffering, 329 to 339, 
are all very excellent both in sentiment and in 
language ; and are well calculated to show us 
how, amid scenes of affliction and sorrow, we 
may exhibit the value and efficacy of the religion 
of Jesus Christ. 

Hymn 329 beautifully applies the history of 
the three Hebrews in Babylon, cast into the 
burning fiery furnace, and there by the mighty 
powder of God preserved uninjured, and favoured 
with the presence of the Son of God. 

Hymn 330 — " Saviour of all, what hast thou done." — 

111 this fine and instructive hymn the Lord Jesus 
is presented to our view jtot only in his sacrificial 
character, but also as a pattern, which we are 
called to imitate. Thus the suffering disciple 
learns to be conformed to his suffering Master; 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 169 

seeks and acquires that mind which was in 
Christ ; and finally takes his flight from Calvary 
to Zion, from a world of sorrow to the abode of 
eternal glory and bliss. 

Hymn 331 was written to be used on returning 
from a journey, and it contains many appropriate 
and important petitions. 

Hymn 333 — " Come on, my partners in distress." — 

Among hymns adapted to the circumstances of 
the tried and afflicted people of God, this holds 
a very distinguished rank, and has few, if any, 
parallels. " It anticipates the strains, (says 
Montgomery,) and is written almost in the spirit, 
of the church triumphant." The faithful disciple 
of Christ is contemplated as escaping beyond the 
reach of griefs and fears, conflicts and sufferings 
— ascending into glory, sitting down by the side 
of his divine Master, wearing the never-fading 
crown, enjoying the beatific vision, mingling in 
the praises of the heavenly hosts, falling pros- 
trate in silent adoration. And so thoroughly does 
the poet enter into his subject, that the reader is 
carried forward, as it were, unconsciously, into 
the midst of these glorious scenes, till he almost 
forgets that he is still dwelling among frail 
mortals, and is ready to imagine, that he has been 
transported into the celestial regions. 

Hymns 338, 339 are compositions of superior 
beauty and excellence, and abound in petitions, 
admirably adapted to the circumstances of the 
suffering Christian. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

REMARKS ON VARIOUS HYMNS, CONTINUED, 

The hymns in Sections 7 and 8, from 340 to 440, 
constitute one of the most valuable and most 
important portions of the whole volume. In 
addition to the general observations on these 
hymns already made, (page 52, &c.,) we may 
notice that Christian perfection may be viewed 
in a great variety of scriptural aspects, all tending 
to illustrate its nature, its advantages, its neces- 
sity. It may be viewed as a salvation from all 
sin, a redemption from all iniquity ; and where 
can we find this more correctly or more beauti- 
fully described, than in these hymns ? 

" My soul shall then, like thine, 

Abhor the thing unclean, 
And sanctified by love divine, 

For ever cease from sin." 

" When thou the work of faith hast wrought, 
I shall be pure within, 
Nor sin in deed, or word, or thought; 
For angels never sin." 

" Saviour from sin, we thee receive, 
From all indwelling sin." — 

" From all iniquity, from all, 
He shall my soul redeem." — 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 171 

" Be it according to thy word ; 

Redeem me from all sin." — 
" God shall in thy flesh appear, 

And make an end of sin." — 

Or it may be regarded as implying the complete 
sanctincation of all our powers, and their unre- 
served consecration to the service of God. Here 
we find the sanctincation of the will, implying its 
uniform and complete accordance with the divine 
will— 

" I ask in confidence the grace, 

That I may do thy will, 
As angels, who behold thy face, 
And all thy words fulfil." 

" And I shall do thy will on earth, 
As angels do in heaven." 

" I shall suffer and fulfil 
All my Father's gracious will." 

" My will be swallow'd up in thee." — 

Here we have also the sanctincation of the 
affections, implying the subjugation and destruc- 
tion of all evil propensities — 

"Come, Lord, and form my soul anew, 
Emptied of pride, and wrath, and hell." — 

" Be auger to my soul unknown ; 
Hate, envy, jealousy, be gone; 
In love create thou all things new." 

"Refining fire, go through my heart, 
Illuminate my soul ; 
Scatter thy life through every part, 
And sanctify the whole." 

1 ' My spirit meek, my will resign'd ; 
Lowly as thine shall be my mind; 
The servant shall be as his Lord." 



172 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

" Now, Father, let the gracious shower 
Descend, and make me pure from sin." — 

" Cleanse me from every sinful thought, 
From all the filth of self and pride." 

Or if we regard Christian perfection as denoting 
the cheerful and unreserved dedication of all our 
ransomed powers to the service of our God and 
Saviour, where can we find this so admirably 
described as in Hymns 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 
431? 

What can be more excellent, either in sentiment 
or in language, than the following lines? 

" Up to thee our souls we raise, 
Up to thee our bodies yield." 

" Meet it is, and just, and right, 
That we should be wholly thine, 
In thy only will delight, 
In thy blessed service join." 

" The Christian lives to Christ alone, 
To Christ alone he dies." 

il All my actions sanctify ; 
All my words and thoughts receive ; 
Claim me for thy service ; claim 
All I have, and all I am." 

" Take my soul and body's powers ; 

Take my memory, mind, and will ; 
All my goods, and all my hours, 

All I know, and all I feel ; 
All I think, or speak, or do ; 
Take my heart ; but make it new." 

" My spirit, soul, and flesh receive, 
A holy, living sacrifice ; , 
Small as it is, 'tis all my store ; 
More shouldst thou have, if I had more." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 173 

In the last verse of Hymn 340, we have a fine 
thought — 

11 Soul of my soul, remain ; 

Who didst for all fulfil, 
In me, O Lord, fulfil again 
Thy heavenly Father's will." 

Christ may indeed he regarded as the soul of the 
believers soul ; for he has Christ in him, Christ 
dwelling in his heart by faith; and the life he 
now lives in the flesh, is by faith in the Son of 
God. Christ and the true believer become, as it 
were, identified ; for he that is joined to the Lord, 
is one spirit. As our mortal bodies therefore are 
animated, guided, and governed by the immaterial 
and immortal principle residing within, so in the 
believer that inward principle is animated, guided, 
and governed by the indwelling Saviour : it is, so 
to speak, Christ who thinks and feels and acts in 
him. And thus as the Redeemer did once come 
to do the will of his heavenly Father by under- 
taking and accomplishing the glorious work of 
human redemption, so he again fulfils that will in 
all his faithful followers, by dwelling in them, and 
thus implanting the principle which leads to 
cheerful and uniform obedience. No countenance 
is here given to the antinomian heresy, which 
would teach that Christ fulfilled the law for us, 
that we might be at liberty to violate that law. 
Nor do we in fact pray, that he may now fulfil his 
Father's wili/oft-iis, that is, in our place, in our 
stead ; as though our own obedience were not 
Q 2 



174 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

requisite : but that he may fulfil that will in us ; 
by abiding in us, and thus leading us in the way 
of universal obedience and holiness. 

Hymn 345 — " Ye ransom'd sinners, hear." — 

Here the poet applies the apostolical precept — 
rejoicing in hope — to the particular case of be- 
lievers who are seeking full redemption, and 
encourages them to rejoice in hope of speedily 
attaining that blessing. He justly represents 
those who oppose Christian perfection as hugging 
their chains, and pleading for sin and Satan; and 
he shows what strong and scriptural ground we 
have for expecting entire liberty from sin, and for 
expecting it now. 

Hymn 346 — " For ever here my rest shall be." — 

In this hymn we have a forcible acknowledgment 
of the necessity of the atonement of Christ, and 
of exclusive dependence thereupon; with an 
earnest prayer that the benefits of that atonement 
may be realized by us in the fullest degree. It 
is a beautiful and edifying application of that 
incident in our Lord's life, his washing the feet 
of his disciples, and of the conversation that then 
ensued between him and Peter. It may advan- 
tageously be used in celebrating the Lord's 
supper. 

Hynms 348, 349 are an elegant, spirited, and 
truly evangelical paraphrase of that fine pro- 
phetical chapter, Isaiah xxxv. 

Hymn 350 — " Holy Lamb, who thee receive." — 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 175 

In verse 6 of this fine and expressive hymn, the 
writer beautifully refers to the atonement of 
Christ, as the only medium through which sinners 
can obtain salvation. With a poet's eye, he 
beholds the sacrificial Lamb as slaughtered ; the 
fire of heaven seizes the victim; and the ascend- 
ing flame shows the new, the living way, that 
leads to eternal glory. 

Hymns 351, 853 are highly instructive com- 
positions, and throw a flood of light on the sub- 
ject of Christian perfection. In verse 1 of Hymn 
351 the burden of the petition is, Let me know 
tliat I am born of God. But as we proceed 
through the hymn, our desires are enlarged and 
our expectations rise higher, till in the last 
verse our petition is, Let me know that I am one 
with God ; an expression denoting a much deeper 
and fuller experience of spiritual blessings. 

In these hymns we meet with two petitions, 
which perhaps require a little qualification. 

Hymn 351 — u Be anger to my soul unknown." 

353—" No anger mayst thou ever find, 
No pride in my unruffled mind." 

The same sentiment appears also in other hymns. 
—Thus, 

Hymn 355— "Anger I no more shall feel." 

417 — " Anger and sloth, desire and pride 
This moment be subdued." 

509 — " Free from anger and from pride, 
Let us thus in God abide." 

These expressions must be understood as refer- 



176 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

ring only to sinful anger, and not as condemning, 
in an absolute and unqualified way, all anger 
whatsoever. For it is a divine precept — Be ye 
angry, and sin not ; and we are taught that our 
Eedeemer, who knew no sin, did on one occasion 
at least manifest anger; for he looked round about 
on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness 
of their hearts. Hence we infer that there may 
be anger wholly unconnected with sin; anger, 
involving nothing contrary to holiness; anger, 
thoroughly consistent with supreme love to God 
and universal benevolence to man. That which 
Scripture condemns, and from which we should 
pray to be fully delivered, is that kind of anger 
which is violent and excessive, unreasonable and 
uncalled-for; that kind of anger which is con- 
nected with malice, and under the influence of 
which, men desire and endeavour to inflict some 
injury on those who have provoked them. Such 
anger is altogether indefensible, and totally at 
variance with the Christian character. 

Hymn 352 — " Jesus, thou art our King." — 

Here we are taught to contemplate the Lord 
Jesus as sustaining the regal office, and to plead 
with him for the full establishment of his kingdom 
in our hearts, and the entire subjugation of all 
his enemies. 

Hymn 355 — " Jesu, shall I never be." — 

From verse 5 to the end of this hymn we have an 
expansion of the idea contained in that precept — 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 177 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus, and are taught in nine particulars what the 
mind of Christ was. It was quiet, gentle, patient, 
nohle, spotless, loving, thankful, constant, perfect. 
Such also may our mind he ; for the promise is — 
every one that is perfect shall be as his Master ; 
and the apostle declared concerning himself and 
his fellow-disciples — as he is, so are we in this 
world. 

In Hymn 357 we have a beautiful application 
of that petition in our Lord's prayer — Thy will 
be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Hymn 360—" Father of Jesus Christ, my Lord."— 

Here we have a fine illustration and application 
of the apostle's argument relative to the faith of 
Abraham, Eomans iv. 13, &c. Most excellently 
does the poet describe, in verses 7, 8, 9, that faith 
which, disregarding appearances and obstacles, 
improbabilities and impossibilities, looks simply 
and steadily at the divine promise, and relies 
without wavering on the power and faithfulness 
of Grod. At the same time he is careful to guard 
these strong views of the mighty efficacy of faith 
from antinomian abuse ; and hence he adds in 
the last verse — ■ 

" Obedient faith, that waits on thee, 
Thou never wilt reprove." 

The faith of which he speaks is always obedient 
faith, always connected with obedience to the 
divine commands ; and it waits on God in a 



178 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OB A COMPANION 

diligent use of the means of grace, and waits in 
confident expectation of receiving all the bless- 
ings which God has promised. To no other kind 
of faith are the striking sayings of this hymn 
applicable. 

Hymn 361 — " My God, I know, I feel thee mine." — 

This hymn begins by describing the case of one 
who holds the Eedeemer, but only with a trembling 
hand, his faith being small and feeble. But as 
we proceed, we find him becoming more vehement 
in his desires, more urgent in his petitions, more 
intent on securing a present blessing ; and the 
language of his prayers in verses 4, 7, 8, 9 is 
such, that none can adopt it in sincerity and truth 
without realizing some benefit ; for they who thus 
hunger and thirst after righteousness, shall assuredly 
be filled. 

Hymn 367 — " O come and dwell in me." 

One of the expressions in this fine hymn re- 
quires notice — 

" And bring the glorious liberty 
From sorrow, fear, and sin." 

Here Christian perfection appears to be repre- 
sented as though it included a deliverance not 
only from guilty fear and from sin, but from sor- 
row. The same idea we find also in other hymns ; 
as in Hymn 403 — 

" Where fear and sin and grief expire, 

Cast out by perfect love."— (See Page 55.) 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 179 

That it is our privilege to be completely delivered 
from tormenting fear and from all sin, cannot be 
doubted by those whose views are fully in accord- 
ance with the declarations, precepts, and promises 
of Scripture : but to be wholly delivered from 
sorrow or grief, is more than we are warranted to 
expect. Our Redeemer was a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief ; and the disciple is not 
above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
We must, through much tribulation, enter into the 
kingdom of God. And sorrow and affliction are 
so far from being incompatible with perfect holi- 
ness and supreme love to God, that, when sanc- 
tified, they are blessed means of deepening the 
work of grace in the soul, and of leading the be- 
liever onward to the highest attainments in 
experimental religion. Possibly all the meaning 
that the poet wished to convey by these expressions, 
is, that we may be delivered from all that sorrow 
and trouble which are the result of inward cor- 
ruption and depravity, not yet subdued, not yet 
extirpated ; and that when we are fully sanctified 
to God, all trouble, fear, and grief of that sort 
are at an end. 

Hymn 368 is a composition of great beauty 
and excellence, abounding in elegant diction and 
poetical images, and finely exhibiting the privileges 
of Christian believers. 

Hymns 373 to 380 are exquisite in composition 
and admirable in sentiment ; full of important 
instruction, and breathing out earnest and vehe 



180 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

ment desires after the great salvation of the gospel, 
salvation from all sin. 

Hymn 373, bearing in the original editions the 
title — Living by Christ — dwells most delightfully 
on the love manifested by the Saviour toward his 
faithful disciples; and on the evideuces and re- 
sults of that love to him, which glows in their 
grateful breasts. 

Hymns 374, 376 refer to some of the deepest 
and most important operations of the Holy Spirit 
in the hearts of believers ; as sealing them, stamp- 
ing on them the divine image, bearing witness of 
their acceptance, giving the earnest and the 
juedge of the heavenly inheritance, taking full 
possession of them, dwelling permanently within, 
and thus constituting them the temples of God. 
We are taught to plead with that gracious and 
divine Spirit, for the speedy fulfilment of the 
promises that relate to him and his work. 

Hymn 375 is an appeal to the Eedeemer for 
the full accomplishment of the gracious purposes 
for which he gave himself ; that is, to redeem us 
from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a 
peculiar people, zealous of good ivofM. It encou- 
rages us also to rely on the promise, that every 
one that is perfect shall be as his Master. 

Hymn 377 is an application to God the Father 
for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Here 
the poet represents in a striking way the final 
issue of the salvation bestowed on believers. 
Already is it their privilege to bless and praise 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 181 

and serve God, as the hosts above : and ere long 
they are to be added to the heavenly choir, and 
in their strains of praise they will vie with angelic 
beings, and even out-soar the first-horn seraph's 
flight ! What sublime ideas ! and how well sus 
tained by Holy Scripture ! For the seraphim 
cannot take part in that triumphant song — Thou 
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood. Here ransomed worms of the earth will 
take the lead ; will sing, as it were, the first part, 
commencing the joyous strain ; while the holy 
angels will join with them in the never-ending 
chorus, and all unitedly will ascribe blessing and 
honour, and glory and power, unto Him that 
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for 
ever and ever. 

Hymn 379— " O Love, T languish at thy stay." — 

This fine hymn presents to our view, in a great 
variety of figures and images, the nature and the 
blessedness of pure and undefiled religion. Its 
very essence is love — the love of God shed abroad 
in our heart by the Holy Ghost given to us ; it 
is Christ in us, the hope of glory ; and he who 
secures this religion, will find in it all that he 
needs, for body and for soul, for time and for 
eternity. 

Hymn 380—" Prisoners of hope, lift up your heads." — 

An admirable hymn, full of instruction and en- 
couragement for those who are seeking deliver- 
ance from inbred sin. It teaches us to take the 

R 



182 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGT \ OR A COMPANION 

promises of God, and to plead earnestly and confi- 
dently for their fulfilment. In the last three verses, 
our attention is fixed especially on those passages 
in which we are taught that the disciple shall he 
as Ms master, and the servant as his lord, and 
that every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 
These gracious declarations are beautifully ex- 
panded in verses 8, 9 ; all considerations about 
the time and the manner of their fulfilment are 
set aside, and we are led simply to rely on the 
word of promise given by Him who is faithful 
and true ; knowing that none of his words can 
possibly fail. 

In Hymns 382, 383 we have a fine application 
of that passage, Zechariah iv. 7, &c, to the case 
of the believer who is seeking full salvation. In- 
dwelling sin, which is particularly described in 
verse 2, is regarded as a great mountain, not to 
be moved by human might or power, but flowing 
dowu, sinking into a plain, before the Eedeemer : 
for if thou canst believe, says our Lord, all things 
are possible to him that believeth. 

Hymn 385 — " Love divine, all loves excelling." — 

This is an admirable hymn on the value and im- 
portance of divine love — that love which is the 
fulfilling of the law, the sum and substance of all 
the commandments of God. And here in our 
petitions we are led forward delightfully from 
grace to grace, to perfect love, to full salvation, to 
final glory. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 183 

In the old editions this hymn has four verses, 
the second of which stood thus — 

11 Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit 

Into every troubled breast ; 
Let us all in thee inherit, 

Let us find that second rest. 
Take away the power of sinning ; 

Alpha and Omega be ; 
End of faith as its beginning, 

Set our hearts at liberty." 

That expression — Takeaway the poiver of sinning — 
would hy most persons he deemed objectionable 
and improper. In some editions it has been thus 
altered — 



In others- 



1 Take away our bent to sinning." 



" Take away the love of sinning." 



Perhaps all that the poet meant is — Take away 
all the remaining corruption and depravity of our 
hearts, so that there may he nothing within that 
is likely to lead us into sin. For if more than 
this he intended, it should be remembered, that, in 
all who are in a state of probation, the power of 
sinning is co-ordinate with the power of obeying ; 
the one cannot exist without the other. To take 
away, absolutely, the power of sinning, would be 
to deprive us of our free agency, and of course to 
destroy our accountability. Probably, because of 
that line, the whole verse is omitted in the late 
editions. 



184 WESLEYAN HYMNOIiOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

Hymn 386 is an elegant paraphrase on that 
beautiful and highly-poetical passage, Isaiah li. 9. 
10, 11. Here full redemption is considered as 
implying a complete deliverance from pain and 
anguish, care and sorrow, from all the evils of 
this probationary state, and from all the assaults 
of our spiritual foes. Thus believers are repre- 
sented as groaning within themselves, being bur- 
dened, and as waiting for the adoption, to wit, the 
redemption of their body. And full redemption, 
when understood in this sense, is not attainable 
on earth, but is one great object of joyous an- 
ticipation with the people of God. They expect 
it, they wait for it, and in due time they shall 
receive it. 

Hymn 390 — i; Since the Son hath made me free." 

This excellent hymn contains distinct addresses 
to each Person of the sacred Trinity ; and laying 
hold firmly on the advocacy of the Lord Jesus, 
it raises our expectations to the highest degree of 
confidence, and emboldens us to use that strong 
language — 

" Lord, I will not let thee go, 
Till the blessing thou bestow : 
* * * * 

Bless me ; for I will prevail.'' 

The spirit which breathes through this verse, is 
precisely that which our Saviour commended in 
the parable of the importunate widow ; and the 
language is not stronger or bolder than that 
which was employed by Jacob, when he said to 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 185 

the divine Angel, with whom he wrestled — I will 
not let thee go, except thou bless me. This is that 
force, that violence, to which our Lord refers, when 
he tells us that the kingdom of heaven suffereth 
violence, and the violent take it by force. 

In Hymns 391, 392, 393, the poet applies to the 
best purpose some of the most gracious promises 
ever made under the old or Jewish dispensation, 
Ezekiel xxxvi. 25, &c. The various parts of that 
passage furnish matter for many earnest petitions; 
and those petitions illustrate the nature and 
tendency of that entire holiness which we are 
encouraged to seek. Nothing can show more 
strikingly than verses 2, 3, 4, of Hymn 393, that 
the perfection held forth in these hymns is in- 
separably connected with profound humility ; for 
when we gain perfection's height, we fall into 
nothing, and Christ is all in all. 

Hymn 394—" O God of our forefathers, hear."— 

In this fine devotional hymn we are taught to lay 
hold of the atonement and intercession of Christ, 
and on this ground to claim and expect all that 
more abundant life, which he came to impart; 
that full sanctification which God has promised 
to bestow. 

Hymns 395, 396, 397 are all excellent com- 
positions, addressed to the Redeemer. They 
teach us to plead with him, as being now, in 
power and goodness, faithfulness and love, just 
the same as he was in the days of his flesh : 
r 2 



186 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

an almighty, omnipresent, and infinitely-gracious 
Saviour; able and willing to save every sinner, 
to save him now, to save him fully and for ever. 
These hymns give a due prominence to that 
blessed truth, that we may have not only a com- 
plete, but a present salvation ; that whatever we 
need now, we may obtain now ; and they are cal- 
culated to encourage our determination not to 
rest till we have realized all that the Redeemer is 
able and willing to communicate. 

Hymn 400 — " Jesus comes with all his grace." — 

Here Christians are taught to exult in grateful 
recollection of what their Redeemer has already 
done for them, and to rejoice in anticipation of 
still greater blessings. 

Hymn 401—" All things are possible to him." — 

In this hymn the poet takes up our Saviour's 
gracious declaration — If thou canst believe, all 
things are possible to him that believeth — applies it 
to the case of the child of God, who is seeking 
full salvation, and encourages him to expect that, 
in spite of all the difficulties and obstacles lying 
in the way, this blessed experience shall be realized 
by him. We should hardly have been aware, had 
not the poet taught us, of the propriety and 
advantage of thus applying this and many other 
passages of Holy Writ. 

This hymn indeed contains some very bold 
expressions, and some sentiments that appear 
quite paradoxical. Thus in verse 2, 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 187 

" The most impossible of all 
Is, that I e'er from sin should cease; 
Yet shall it "be, I know it shall ; 
Jesus, look to thy faithfulness ! " 

It may be questioned, whether, in strict propriety 
of language, impossibility admits of any degrees ; 
whether, among things impossible, one can be 
more impossible than another. But the word is 
here to be understood as denoting that which is 
exceedingly difficult and altogether improbable. 
And thus we see the triumph of faith. It rises above 
obstacles and discouragements, improbabilities and 
impossibilities ; and relying on the almighty power 
and the inviolable faithfulness of God, rests 
calmly in the persuasion that the blessing shall 
be imparted, that the promise shall be fulfilled, 
and that, according to our faith, it shall be done 
to us. Hence the poet, having contemplated the 
object to be attained, namely, an entire cessation 
from sin, in all its magnitude, in all its difficulties, 
in all its apparent impossibility, proceeds to say — 

" Yet shall it he ; I know it shall" — 

and in verse 3 — 

" The Lamb shall take my sins away ; 
'Tis certain, though impossible : 
The thing impossible, shall be; 
All things are possible to me." 

These sayings, however paradoxical they may 
appear, are fraught with important truth. Such 
a salvation, though impossible according to 



188 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

merely human and natural considerations, is cer- 
tain according to the principles of the glorious 
gospel ; though impossihle to the eye of sense, it 
is certain to the eye of faith ; though impossihle 
to the carnal and unregenerate man, it is certain 
to the believer in Christ. Fixing our attention 
on the difficulties and discouragements which lie 
in the way, we should say, the attainment of 
these blessings is impossible; but toning away 
from such views, and fixing our attention on the 
promises of the gospel, and on the character of 
Him who has given those promises, we say, these 
blessings are attainable, and if we seek them in 
God's own way, their attainment becomes certain. 
That line in verse 2 — " Jesus, look to thy faith- 
fulness" — is a very bold appeal to the Saviour, 
and appears to some irreverent and unwarrant- 
able. Hence in some editions the two lines stood 
thus — 

" Yet shall it me, I know it shall, 
Through Jesu's all-sufficient grace." 

We have in Scripture some bold aj)peals to the 
Lord Jehovah, and even expostulations with him, 
which do not appear to have been displeasing in 
his sight ; particularly in the case of Moses inter- 
ceding on behalf of the Israelites ; Exodus xxxii. 
11, &c, and Numbers xiv. 13, &c. God con- 
descends to invite his creatures, saying — Put me 
in remembrance : let us plead together. And the 
faithfulness of God and of our Redeemer, his 



TO THE WESLEYAU HYMN BOOK. 189 

faithfulness in fuMlling his promises and making 
good all his engagements, is one great source of 
encouragement and consolation, to which we may 
at all times resort. 

Hymn 403 — " Lord, I believe a rest remains." — 

Here the poet considers the rest of the Christian 
believer, as comprehending a full deliverance 
from inbred sin. This blessed state of experience 
does indeed introduce us into a deeper, a more 
complete, a more sacred rest, than that en- 
joyed by the ordinary Christian ; and in this 
hymn we are carried onward, eagerly pursuing it, 
ardently panting after it, labouring to grasp it, 
resolved not to be satisfied without it. Nothing 
can more strikingly describe this eager, anxious, 
resolute pursuit of the blessing, than the 3rd and 
following verses. He who makes this language 
his own, realizing what is therein expressed, can- 
not fail to attain a high degree of grace : for they 
who thus ask shall receive ; they who thus seek 
shall infallibly find, 

Hynm 404—" glorious hope of perfect love."— 

This delightful hymn is another illustration, like 
Hymn 345, of that apostolical sentiment, rejoicing 
in hope. Here the Christian is taken by our poet 
to the top of the mountain ; from which, like 
Moses from Mount Pisgah, he views the promised 
land, the spiritual Canaan, the land of perfect 
love — lying beyond the howling wilderness, be- 



190 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

yond the dominion of our foes, the carnal mind 
and the inbred sin — at the termination of our 
legal years, our term of comparative nonage or 
immaturity; the land from which all sinful 
sorrows and doubts and fears are excluded. 
Animated by the glorious prospect, ravished with 
a taste of the heavenly banquet, and fully j^er- 
suaded that this blissful inheritance is intended 
for him, the believer claims the immediate ful- 
filment of the promises of his God, and ajypeals 
to Iris Divine Saviour, his Joshua, to bring him 
in at once, without any further delay. The spirit 
of Joshua and Caleb, who said — Let us go up at 
once and possess the land, for ive are well able to 
overcome it — breathes through the whole of this 
admirable composition. 

Hymn 405 is much of the same stamp as the 
preceding one. In the last two verses, eager 
desire and confident expectation rise to the high- 
est pitch. These are strikingly indicated by the 
earnest and vehement repetition of the most 
prominent words— My God, my God — fulfil, 
fulfil—large desires, large as infinity — give, give — 
all, all. This is unquestionably the language of 
nature and of truth. 

Hymn 407—" None is like Jeshurun's God." — 

Here we have a very fine and elegant parajDhrase 
of the dying testimony of Moses, as to the blessed- 
ness of Israel. The truly poetical spirit of the 
original passage is seized by our bard, and the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 191 

noble sentiments of the Jewish legislator are 
clothed with additional beauty and dignity, when 
applied to the superior privileges of Christians, 
and especially of Christians wholly sanctified to 
God. One of the expressions in verse 4 requires 
some qualification — 

" All the struggle then is o'er, 
And wars and fighting cease." — 

This cannot be understood as implying that the 
believer may, while on earth, rise to a state in 
which there will be absolutely no struggle, no 
wars, no fightings. Here below we must un- 
questionably continue, even to the end, to fight 
the good fight of faith, to carry on the war 
against Satan and all the hosts of hell, and to 
struggle through all the difficulties and obstacles 
that may beset our path to the heavenly king- 
dom. These lines must therefore be interpreted 
as referring solely to the struggle with inbred sin, 
the wars and fightings consequent on the unsub- 
dued depravity of our nature. In him who is 
wholly sanctified, these wars and fightings and 
struggles are ended. 

In Hymn 409, we are taught to appeal to that 
almighty and all-merciful Saviour, who in the 
days of his flesh cast out evil spirits, and healed 
those who were oppressed by Satan; and we 
beseech him to display the same divine power 
in our souls, expelling the infernal fiend, and 
destroying the works of the devil. 



192 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

Hymn 411 — " Why not now, my God, my God." — 

In this hymn we are taught to plead earnestly 
with God for a present salvation; as those who 
are determined to have the blessing which they 
need, now, at once, without any further delay. 

In Hymn 412 we- have a profitable application 
of that part of the history of Elijah, in which 
we see him contending with the four hundred and 
fifty prophets of Baal, and a|)pealing to Jehovah, 
as the God who answereth by fire. 

Hymns 413, 414 are beautiful in composi- 
tion, and abound in appropriate and important 
petitions. 

Hymns 415, 416, 417 are all excellently adapted 
to the use of those who, according to the apostle's 
phraseology, (Romans viii. 23 ; 2 Corinthians v. 
2, 4,) groan for full redemption, and are resolved 
to secure that invaluable privilege. Yerses 4, 5 
of Hymn 415 forcibly exhibit that important 
truth, that it is not the gifts of God merely, how- 
ever great, however valuable, that can fill and 
satisfy the soul : it is God himself who is the 
portion of his people. 

" Give me thyself; from every boast, 
From every wish set free : 
Let all I am in thee be lost ; 
But give thyself to me. 

" Thy gifts, alas ! cannot suffice, 
Unless thyself be given ; 
Thy presence makes my paradise, 
And where thou art, is heaven." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 193 

These verses corresjDond in sentiment with those 
admirable lines of Cowper — 

11 But, O thou bounteous Giver of all good ! 
Thou art of all thy gifts, thyself the crown. 
Give what thou canst — without thee, we are poor ; 
And with thee, rich — take what thou wilt, away." 

In Hymns 416, 417 the confidence of the believer 
rises higher and higher, till at length he is repre- 
sented as actually laying hold of the blessing of 
full salvation, and rejoicing in the conscious 
possession thereof. 

The hymns for believers saved, 418 to 440, are 
truly excellent. They most happily describe the 
privileges and enjoyments, the duties and respon- 
sibilities of those who are fully saved from sin, 
and entirely sanctified to God. They who are 
seeking this high state of grace, and they who 
profess to have attained it, may be greatly bene- 
fited by a frequent perusal of these instructive 
and beautiful compositions. 

Hymn 419 gives a comprehensive view of the 
glorious liberty enjoyed by a Christian of this 
stamp. 

Hymn 420 is a fine comment on the apostle's 
language, Colossians iii. 1 to 4. The exhortations 
to practical piety are worthy of all possible 
attention ; and especially, as connecting it with 
experimental religion. How important, how 
appropriate is that advice to all Christian 
professors ! — 

s 



194 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

" Your faith by holy tempers prove; 
By actions show your sins forgiven." 

There can be no higher, safer, or happier state 
on earth, than that of him who enters fully into 
the admirable sentiments expressed in Hymns 
426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431. If we make this 
language our own, and leam to think and speak, 
and act and live in a way consistent therewith, 
we shall most certainly be vessels unto honour, 
sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and pre- 
pared unto every good work. 

Hymn 431 is a composition of superior poetical 
merit, and contains a most salutary caution for 
those who are disposed to pay too much attention 
to the adorning of the body with gay and costly 
apparel. Where can we find that better adorn- 
ing, which in the sight of God is of great price, 
more beautifully described, or more powerfully 
recommended, than in verses 4, 5 ? 

" O never in these veils of shame, 

Sad fruits of sin, my glorying be ! 
Clothe with salvation, through thy name, 

My soul, and let me put on thee ! 
Be living faith my costly dress, 
And my best robe thy righteousness. 



1 Send down thy likeness from above, 

And let this my adorning be : 
Clothe me with wisdom, patience, love, 

With lowliness and purity ; 
Than gold and pearls more precious far, 
And brighter than the morning star." 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 195 

Hymn 433 — " Give me the faith vrhich can remove. "— 

This hymn is admirably adapted to express the 
views, wishes, and purposes of a faithful minister 
of Jesus Christ. Every one who is called to that 
sacred office should labour to catch the spirit 
that breathes through this hymn, and to make the 
sentiments and the petitions his own. Ministers 
are here taught to pray for faith, for love, for zeal, 
that they may diligently and successfully prose- 
cute their glorious work, devoting to it all their 
time and all then talents. They are encouraged 
to pray for such a measure of boundless charity 
divine, as shall inflame and till their hearts, and 
shall lead them to emulate the love and the zeal 
of the great and the good Shepherd, who laid 
down his life for the sheep. 

Hymn 434 — " Jesus, all- atoning Lamb." — 

Here we have the language of one who happily 
realizes the meaning and the truth of that decla- 
ration — he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, 
and God in him. 

Hymn 436 — " Jesu, my truth, my way." — 

This is an excellent hymn, addressed throughout 
to the Redeemer, and full of the most important 
petitions. In two of the verses, 6 and 7, we have 
instances of alliteration, or the frequent recur- 
rence of the same letter, such as we do not often 
find in the Wesleyan poetry — 



196 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

" Still stir me up to strive 
With thee in strength divine." 

In these two short lines, we have four words 
beginning with st — still, stir, strive, strength — 
which gives to that couplet a peculiar character, 
indicative of effort, opposition, and difficulty. 
In that line also — " Persist to save my soul" — 
we have the s recurring thrice — in the second 
syllable of persist, in save, and in soul — which has 
somewhat of a similar effect. 

Hymn 437 is a beautiful and elegant paraphrase 
of Psalm lxiii., entering fully into the spirit, views, 
and purposes of the royal j)enman. 

Hymns 438, 439, 440 are very valuable and 
instructive compositions, which first appeared in 
the two volumes of Hymns and Sacred Poems 
published by Mr. Charles Wesley in 1749. Hymns 
439, 440 are part of one of unusual length, and 
great beauty and sublimity, intended " for a person 
called forth, to bear his testimony." " In these 
noble and energetic lines (says Mr. Jackson) 
Mr. Charles Wesley has strikingly depicted the 
mighty faith, the burning love to Christ, the 
yearning pity for the souls of men, the heavenly- 
mindedness, the animating hope of future glory, 
which characterized his public ministry, and 
which not only enabled him to deliver his Lord's 
message before scoffing multitudes, but also car- 
ried him through his wasting labours, and the 
riots of Bristol, of Cornwall, of Staffordshire, of 
Devizes, and of Ireland, without a murmur. As 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 197 

a witness for Christ, lie freely sacrificed his repu- 
tation as a man of letters and of genius ; and of 
life itself, comparatively speaking, he made no 
account."* 

* Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. page 545. 



s"2 



CHAPTEE IX. 

REMARKS ON VARTOUS HYMNS, CONTINUED, 

The hymns for believers interceding, 441 to 477, 
are very comprehensive, embracing almost every 
subject which a Christian, in his intercessions, 
would feel himself concerned to bring before the 
throne of grace. We are taught to pray for the 
world at large, for the Mahometans, the heathens, 
the Jews, — for the lukewarm and those who have 
fallen into sin — for our country and our sovereign. 
Parents are here taught how to pray for their 
children ; and masters, for their servants and 
families. 

In Hymns 442, 447, 448, we lament the 
ravages of war, and pray for the speedy and uni- 
versal establishment of the Eedeemer's peaceable 
kingdom. 

In verses 2 and 3 of Hymn 443, we have 
a forcible and affecting prayer on behalf of 
Mahometans and Unitarians ; who, as agreeing 
in the rejection of the Holy Trinity, while they 
profess to acknowledge the unity of the Godhead, 



WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 199 

are classed together. The poet appears to apply 
that prophetic 'passage, Revelation ix. 2, &c, 
to the rise and progress of the Mahometan 
imposture : and as the locusts are there repre- 
sented as coming out of the smoke, and the smoke 
out of the bottomless pit, this probably led him 
to adopt that bold expression — 

" The unitarian fiend expel, 
And chase his doctrine back to hell." 

From hell it came, as a device of him who is the 
angel of the bottomless pit, the father of lies, the 
great adversary of God and man. Well therefore 
may we pray that this delusive and ruinous 
doctrine may return to hell, and there abide, that 
it may no longer trouble and injure the earth. 

Hymns 444, 445, 446 are excellent compo- 
sitions, and breathe the true missionary spirit ; 
that spirit which, within the last half-century, 
has given birth to the noblest and most Godlike 
enterprises that ever engaged the attention of 
mankind ; that spirit which has carried the light 
of the glorious gospel into distant regions, that 
had long been sitting in darkness and in the 
shadow of death. And here we are delightfully 
led forward to anticipate the period when all flesh 
shall behold the salvation of God ; when super- 
stition and idolatry shall be finally overthrown, 
and every tribe of Adam's race shall bow to the 
sceptre of Jesus, our Emmanuel, and crown him 
Lord of all. 



200 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OB A COMPANION 

In several lines in Hymns 444, 445 the usual 
regular succession of four iambuses is agreeably 
diversified by making the first foot a trochee. 
The line then begins with a long syllable, 
strongly accented, generally some very import- 
ant word, and this is followed by two short 
syllables ; which arrangement gives to the whole 
line somewhat more than the ordinary measure 
of energy and animation. The following are 
examples, in which we also have a spondee 
occasionally introduced — 

Lord o | ver all J if thou ( h&st made — 
Why is | the grace | so long | delayed — 
When will [ it reach | to all | mankind — 
Light of | thS world J lllu. | mine all — 
Seize as | the pur j chase of | thy blood — 
Edbm | for thy | possess | ion take — 
Take for | thou didst | their ran J som find — 
Fly on | the reb | SI sons | of men — 
Seize them | with faith | divine ( ly° bold— 

Hymns 450, 451, 542, are among the finest and 
most affecting pieces ever written on the con- 
version and restoration of the Jews. Whatever 
opinions we entertain on this difficult question, 
we may safely rest in the scrip trual views here 
exhibited, and may cordially join in the petitions 
furnished by our poet. When, as we pray in 
Hymn 452, converted Jews shall go forth through 
the continents and islands, as heralds of the 
cross, inviting the heathens to behold the Lamb 
of God, then indeed may we expect the fulfil- 
ment of ancient predictions — then shall all the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 201 

Gentile nations meet with the myriads of Israel — 
then shall the mystery of God be finished, his 
family, complete in all its branches, be gathered 
into its heavenly home, and the universe be for 
ever filled with his glory. 

Hymn 461 — M Saviour, to thee we humbly cry." 

Here we have an earnest prayer on behalf of those 
who have wandered from the paths of duty and 
obedience, and have fallen into sin. The poet 
in verse 3 alludes particularly to one of the 
antinomian errors which, at one period in the 
early days of Methodism, prevailed rather 
extensively, and did much mischief. Some of 
the Moravian teachers of that period fell into this 
snare; and the Wesleys and their coadjutors, 
who had been on terms of great intimacy with 
them, found it needful to bear then' testimony 
against this awful abuse of the doctrines of the 
gospel. One of their ideas was, that if a person 
professed faith in Christ, there was no necessity 
that he should manifest or feel any sorrow on 
account of his past or his present sins ; that he 
should acknowledge himself to be a happy sinner, 
and rest satisfied in that state. The expression 
happy sinner, being thus prostituted by that party 
to licentious purposes, was very properly exposed 
and reprobated by our poet, Another of their 
errors was, that of recommending an unscriptiual 
stillness ; teaching people to refrain from the use 
of religious means and ordinances, and in this 



202 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

easy and indolent way to expect all needful com- 
munications of divine grace. To this delusion 
we have a reference in Hymn 295, verse 2 — 

" Place no longer let us give 
To the old tempter's will ; 
Never more our duty leave, 
While Satan cries— Be still." 

Hymns 465 and 755 are as fine specimens as 
were ever embodied in poetical language, of 
Christian loyalty, and Hymns 453, 460, 464, 466, 
of Christian patriotism. Hymns 453, 465, and 
755 were written by Mr. Charles Wesley in 1744, 
and ajDpeared originally in a tract entitled — 
" Hymns for Times of Trouble." That period 
was eminently a time of trouble. " The country 
(says Mr. Jackson) was in a very unsettled 
state. It was at war with France and Spain ; 
and was threatened with an invasion by the 
French, for the purpose of deposing the reigning 
monarch, George the Second, and of placing on 
the throne the exiled representative of the house 
of Stuart; under whose government it was 
understood, should the project succeed, Popery 
and arbitrary power were to be restored."* 
Never was there more pure and fervent loyalty, 
or more genuine and disinterested patriotism, 
than that which characterized the Wesleys and 
their coadjutors : and no men of that period 
contributed more than they did, to secure for 

* Jackson's Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, vol. i. p. 359. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 203 

their country and their sovereign the protection 
and blessing of the Most High. 

The hymns for parents and masters, 467 to 
475, exhibit in a very instructive way the im- 
portant duties devolving on those who stand in 
such relations to others, and the evils and dangers 
against which they should particularly guard. 
They show us how we ought, in all our inter- 
course with those around us, to exhibit the power 
and the excellence of Christian principles. Were 
all parents and heads of families carefully to 
study these hymns, and to regulate their conduct 
accordingly, the most blessed results would un- 
questionably follow, and the religion of Jesus 
Christ would spread more rapidly and more 
extensively than ever. 

The hymns for the Society meeting — giving 
thanks — praying — and parting — 478 to 539, are 
exceedingly instructive and valuable. 

Hymns 478, 481, 483 refer very feelingly to 
the diversified scenes of trouble and clanger, 
temptation and conflict, through which Christians 
are frequently called to pass, the divine support 
and consolation granted, and the deliverances 
wrought out on their behalf. They express the 
pleasure and joy which the true disciples of the 
Lord Jesus feel, when meeting each other in the 
house of prayer, and then confident expectations 
of being blessed in the diligent use of the means 
of grace. Happy indeed are those Christian 
churches, the members of which can adopt the 



204 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

language of these hymns as their own. They 
cannot fail to he in a prosperous condition. 

There may he some difference of opinion as to 
the meaning of one expression in verse 3 of 
Hymn 478 — 

" Which saves us to the uttermost, 
Till we can sin no more." 

The same sentiment we find also in verse 2 of 
Hymn 524 — 

" Thy kingdom in our souls restore, 
And keep till we can sin no more, 
Till all in thy whole image rise." 

When is it, we may enquire, that we are so 
saved, that we can sin no more ? Does the poet 
refer to the high state of experience realized by 
the mature Christian, who is rooted and grounded 
in love, wholly sanctified to God, and saved from 
all sin ? The inspired apostle teaches us, that 
whosoever is born of God does not commit sin: for 
his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, 
because he is born of God. Thus the expression, 
if it have such an allusion, is vindicated on 
scriptural ground. But it is probable that the 
poet refers rather to the state of glorified saints ; 
who, having finished their probation, are placed 
for ever beyond the possibility of falling from 
grace and of sinning against their God. The 
impossibility of sinning, in the former case, is 
merely provisional and conditional ; in the latter 
case, absolute and certain. In the former, it 



TO THE WESLETAN HYMN BOOK. .205 

depends on then abiding in Christ by faith, 
holding the beginning of their confidence stedfast 
unto the end, watching and praying, and per- 
severing in the way of obedience and holiness. 
In the latter case, it depends on nothing but the 
power, goodness, and fidelity of God, and is, 
therefore, as certain as the eternity of the divine 
existence and the immutability of the divine 
character. That the words refer to the state of 
glorified saints, is rendered still more probable 
by the following verse — 

" Let us take up the cross, 
Till we the crown obtain." 

It is natural to suppose that the two contiguous 
lines, — 



and — 



11 Till we can sin no more," 



' Till we the crown obtain,' 



refer to one and the same state, and that the 
period will not arrive till we are safely landed 
in Paradise. 

The petitions offered up and the resolutions 
expressed in Hymns 479, 480, are worthy of uni- 
versal adoption, and cannot be adopted by any 
without benefit. 

In Hymn 482 the poet, having offered devout 
praises to the Redeemer for past protection and 
for present blessings, leads us onward to antici- 
pate the glories of the heavenly state — the reunion 

T 



206 wesleyan hymnology; ok a companion 

of beloved friends and relatives, parted for a 
season, by death — the husband and the wife, the 
parent and the child, meeting there to part no 
more. He then refers in an affecting way to 
some of the circumstances which frequently 
occasion sorrow and distress to the believer, 
while on earth ; such as ill-requited love, the in- 
gratitude of those for whom we have done much, 
the instability and apostacy of religious professors. 
He introduces the pious parent, mourning over 
an ungodly child, as David did over Absalom ; 
and teaches us to rejoice in considering that all 
these sources of trouble and smTering will then 
be at an end. 

Hymn 486 is a forcible and striking appeal to 
the omnipresent and divine Saviour, claiming the 
fulfilment of his gracious promise — where two or 
three are gathered together in my name, there am I 
in the midst of them — and encouraging us to 
expect a present blessing. 

Hymn 487 points out the advantages of Chris- 
tian communion, and shows how the union of true 
believers is to be perpetuated on earth, till it is 
consummated in heaven. 

Hymns 488, 491, 499 are most delightful com- 
positions, the metre of which is so peculiarly 
cheerful and lively, the language so beautiful, and 
the sentiments so animating, that it is scarcely 
possible to read or hear, far less to sing them, 
without being quickened and edified. The first 
and the second of them appeared originally in 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. P 207 

a volume, published by Mr. Charles Wesley in 
1767, and entitled — "Hymns for the use of 
Families, and on various Occasions." In Hymn 
488, written to be sung at the tea-table, we are 
taught how the ordinary intercourse of domestic 
life may be sanctified to the best of purposes ; 
how we may learn to eat and drink, to the glory 
of God. We are there led to contemplate the 
Eedeemer, first as bowing his head on Calvary; 
then as coming with clouds, attended by Iris holy 
angels in the judgment of the great day. Our 
attention is fixed on his promise — I will come 
again and receive you unto myself ; and we are 
encouraged confidently to claim the fulfilment of 
his gracious word, and joyfully to anticipate the 
period when the disciple shall be with his Lord, 
to spend eternity in a rapture of heavenly love. 

Hymn 491 is particularly adapted to the birth- 
day of a wife or husband, or of any beloved 
relative or friend; and, in fact, was originally 
composed by Mr. Charles Wesley on occasion of 
his wife's birth-day, 12th October, probably in 
or about the year 1755. In it the church mili- 
tant on earth seems already to be entering into 
the enjoyments of Paradise, and to be uniting in 
the song of the church triumphant above. Faith, 
mighty faith, overleaping the boundaries of time 
and sense, hears the rapturous shout of the saints, 
rising all-glorious from their tombs, and realizes 
the awfully-magnificent scene, which will be un- 
folded, when, meeting and recognizing their 



208 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OB A COMPANION 

glorified Head, they shall with him ascend into 
the heaven of heavens, and take possession of 
the blissful mansions, prepared for them from 
the foundation of the world. When earthly con- 
nexions and friendships are thus sanctified, they 
are blessings of inestimable value. Unions thus 
formed will not be dissolved by death, but 
will flourish in undiminished vigour, long as 
eternal ages roll. 

Hymn 499 is much of the same stamp. Here 
the poet beautifully applies the apostle's idea, 
where, speaking of faith, hope, and love, he says, 
the greatest of these is love. 

ft By faith we are come To our permanent home; 
By hope we the rapture improve ; 
By love we still rise And look down on the skies, 
For the heaven of heavens is love." 

Some indeed may be of opinion that hymns like 
these are too elevated, too glowing, too impas- 
sioned ; that they are better fitted for heaven 
than for earth, and belong rather to glorified 
saints, than to those who are still journeying 
through the wilderness of this world. If however 
they serve to rouse our dull affections, to animate 
our devotions, to prevent us from grovelling on 
the earth, and to stimulate us to the pursuit of 
perfect holiness, a most important object is 
secured. There is no danger that these delight- 
ful topics should be studied too frequently or too 
closely, provided such studies are brought to bear 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK, ^09 

in favour of practical piety, and are connected 
with obedience to God's commands. 

Hymns 492, 493 are well calculated to cherish. 
the principle of grateful and adoring love in 
believers, while acknowledging the blessings 
already imparted, and anticipating still greater 
benefits. In verse 5 of Hynrn 493 the operations 
of the Holy Spirit in the heart are viewed under 
the scriptural metaphor of fire ; our remaining 
sins are the fuel, and the Spirit of burning seizes 
and consumes them all. 

Hymn 494 — " Lo ! God is here ! let us adore." — 

This excellent hymn is admirably descriptive of 
those solemn, devout, and reverential feelings, 
with which we should always enter the house of 
God. It is one of the best adapted hymns for 
public worship in the whole volume ; although 
verse 3 could not perhaps be well sung by a 
promiscuous congregation, as it expresses reso- 
lutions which only the child of God is disposed 
to form, and conduct which he only can pursue. 
The last verse is peculiarly beautiful and highly 
poetical; it seizes on the image of the flowers 
opening their leaves, to catch the genial and 
vivifying rays of the sun; and teaches us to 
pray, that even so we may ever be waiting and 
eager to receive the purifying influences of the 
Sun of righteousness. 

Hymns 495 and 498 are in a very lively and 
cheerful metre, the same as the New-Year's-Dav 
t 2 



210 WESLEYAX HTMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

Hynin, (See page 100,) and can scarcely be sung 
or read without benefit. The former beautifully 
encourages believers to persevere and abound in 
those good works which God hath before ordained 
that we should walk in them ; at the same time 
renouncing all idea of merit in such works, and 
placing their entire dependence on the atonement 
and merit of Jesus Christ. The latter is pecu- 
liarly adapted to seasons of trial and conflict, and 
cheers the Christian with the prospect of a speedy 
deliverance froirrall his troubles. 

Hymn 49? represents Christians as pilgrims 
on earth, journeying towards the heavenly city, 
the new Jerusalem; and anticipates the period 
when the journey shall be ended, and when all 
the ransomed of the Lord shall meet in their final 
abode, then glorious and everlasting home. 

Hymn 500 describes the benefits and comforts 
of Christian communion on earth, and then 
passes on to the final issue of that communion 
in heaven. 

The section for the Society praying, comprising 
Hymns 501 to 532, is excellent in a high degree. 
Probably there is no subject that ought ever to 
occupy the thoughts of a Christian church, when 
engaged in the solemn duty of prayer, that is not 
here introduced ; and no blessing whatever, that 
can be conducive to their spiritual welfare and 
prosperity, for which we are not here furnished 
with appropriate petitions. Were the language 
of these hymns sincerely adopted in our prayers. 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 211 

and were those prayers answered in our religious 
experience and in our daily deportment, we should 
infallibly become eminent for all that is wise and 
holy and good; and such a Christian chinch 
would enjoy a large measure of the divine bless- 
ing and favour. 

In Hymn 501 the sheep of Christ's flock are 
taught to seek security and protection under the 
care of the good Shepherd ; that they may escape 
the assaults of the infernal wolf, may be united 
in affection here below, and finally associated in 
glory. 

Hymns 502, 503 appeal to the omniscient 
Redeemer, the searcher of hearts, that all remains 
of depravity may be taken away out of our souls, 
and the work of holiness completed within us. 
An expression in verse 2 of Hymn 503 has by 
some been deemed objectionable — ■ 

" When to the right or left we stray. 
Leave us not comfortless." 

This might be supposed to mean, when we are 
wandering in the paths of disobedience, let us 
have comfort ; and thus understood, it would be 
favourable to the antinomian heresy. To expect 
comfort in the paths of sin, is presumption and 
folly, for which not the least warrant can be 
found in Holy Scripture. But this could not be 
the poet's meaning. All that he intended was 
to pray, that, if at any time we should unhappily 
turn aside from the right way, we may not be left 



212 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OK A COMPANION 

in that wretched and comfortless condition ; that 
God may not ahandon us, but may still strive 
with us by his good Spirit, and lead us back into 
the right way, the way of obedience, the way of 
peace. 

In Hymn 504 the poet dwells on the excellence 
of divine love ; in verse 4 he compares the love 
of Christ to a loadstone ; the hearts of believers 
he represents as touched by that loadstone, and 
under the influence of its attractive power, they 
move toward Christ and toward each other. He 
then teaches us to pray, verses 5, 6, that we may 
have all the mind that was in Christ, and that, 
being perfected in love, we may at length be 
removed to paradise and to heaven. Divine love 
he refers to, as being the very essence of true 
religion, the great source of enjoyment, here and 
hereafter, in time and in eternity. An expression 
in verse 7 requires some notice — 

" Grant this, and then from all below 
Insensibly remove ; 
Our souls their change shall scarcely know, 
Made perfect first in love." 

With what propriety can we say — Our souls 
their change shall scarcely know ? The change 
from time to eternity, from a state of probation 
to a state of retribution, from that which is 
transient and uncertain to that which is fixed 
and eternal — from the toils and sorrows and 
sufferings of earth to the glories and enjoyments 
of the heavenly world — must be so vast, so 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 213 

amazing, so much beyond all our previous expe- 
rience, so far above our most sanguine hopes, as 
to carry with it the fullest conviction of its reality 
and importance. In all these respects there will 
unquestionably be a great and most blessed 
change. This indeed our poet allows and asserts 
elsewhere; particularly in Hymn 482, where he 



" O what a mighty change 

Shall Jesu's sufferers know, 
While o'er the happy plains -they range, 
Incapable of woe;" 

and he there illustrates the blessedness of that 
change in a variety of ways. But all these things 
may perhaps be regarded rather as changes in 
the condition and circumstances of the soul, than 
in the soul itself. Between the state of a soul 
entirely sanctified and filled with divine love, 
and that of a soul actually admitted into paradise, 
the difference, possibly, is net so great as some 
imagine. The difference is in the degree, rather 
than in the nature and quality of its felicity; 
and possibly in the earlier periods of its residence 
in the mansions of glory, the degree of its holi- 
ness and bliss may not rise so high above what it 
realized on earth, as to make the poet's language 
appear very extravagant. "Who can say how 
high the believer may rise even here below, in 
his religious experience ! how largely he may 
partake of the divine nature ! how fully he may 
be assimilated to the blessed God himself ! 



214 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

Hymn 505 is a fine prayer for peace and unity, 
harmony and love, among the professed disciples 
of Christ. The soft and easy flow of the language 
accords well with the sentiments expressed. 

Hymn 506 is a beautiful prayer, addressed 
consecutively to the three Persons of the God- 
head, pleading for the fulfilment of that gracious 
promise, contained in John.xiv. 16, 17 — even the 
gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Hymn 507 is addressed throughout to the 
Divine Saviour, and appears to be an expansion 
or illustration of the sentiment contained in that 
promise — If any man hear my voice and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with 
him, and he with me. One line in verse 6 is 
peculiarly instructive and important as to the 
effect of faith, and at the same time beautifully 
expressed, — 

" Faith makes thy fulness all our own" — 

There is in Christ a fulness of blessings — a rich, 
inexhaustible, and eternal supply, — 

" Enough for all, enough for each, 
Enough for evermore." 

By faith we put forth our hands and partake of 
the provision so freely set before us ; we appro- 
priate these blessings to ourselves ; and thus we 
make that fulness all our own. 

Hymns 508, 509 exhibit the spirit and dispo- 
sition which all true believers should seek for. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 215 

teaching us how- they should live, and how they 
may expect to die. 

Hymn 510 may he advantageously employed 
by those who are united in Christian communion 
as members of one church, or by those who are 
connected by the ties of nature and relationship, 
as members of one family ; supposing them to 
be in reality kindred spirits, all enjoying the 
salvation of God here, and anticipating his 
endless glory in the world to come. A kind, 
loving, and affectionate spirit breathes through 
the whole hymn, and the diction is smooth, 
elegant, and beautiful. 

Hymns 511, 512, 513 are excellent models for 
the prayers of Christian believers, and cannot be 
used in the proper spirit of earnest and believing 
prayer, without some benefit. In Hymn 513 
our love to God and to the Saviour is traced back 
to its fountain, namely, the love of God himself — 
that love which is, so to speak, the essence of 
the Deity — for God is love. It is beautifully 
represented as a drop of that unbounded sea, and 
as a spark of that ethereal fire. Verses 3 and 4 
are eminently poetical and finely descriptive. 
We are there taught to pray, that our drop may 
be resorbed into the ocean, and lost in the 
immensity of divine love ; that our spark may 
aspire to its great Source, burn intensely for his 
glory, and blaze through all eternity. Here the 
metaphors are well sustained and strikingly 
applied. 



216 WESLEYAX HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

Hymns 514 to 518 beautifully illustrate the 
communion of saints. Hymn 514 is addressed, 
1st verse to the Father, 2nd to the Son, 3rd to 
the Holy Ghost, 4th to the three Persons con- 
jointly ; and comprises petitions appropriate to 
each Person distinctly, and to the whole unitedly. 
The unity of the Christian church is described, 
Hymn 515, verses 2, 3 ; the foundation on which 
it is built, Hymn 516, verse 1; the union between 
Christ and his people, verses 2, 3. Hymns 517, 
518 contain a series of most appropriate and 
important petitions, all addressed to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, the great Head of the church. 

Hymns 519 to 522 are admirably adapted to 
the Love-Feast, when many of the disciples of 
the Lord Jesus meet together, for the purpose of 
bearing testimony to the glory of God, and for 
the encouragement and edification of their fellow- 
travellers to the heavenly Zion, declaring what 
great things God hath done for their souls. 
Such persons may here leam what is their high 
and holy calling ; what is their duty, and what 
their privilege. They are taught that they 
should emulate the spirit of the ancient martyrs ; 
that they should regard themselves as lights in 
the world, as witnesses for Christ ; that they 
should bring forth the fruits of righteousness, 
exhibit the mind that was in Christ, cultivate 
faith and love, pursue universal and entire 
holiness, endure to the end, and thus secure the 
crown of heavenly glory. Should any enquire, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 217 

What is that faith which we profess and recom- 
mend, and of which we speak so highly, a satis- 
factory reply may here be found, — 

" Plead we thus for faith alone, 
Faith which by our works is shown : 
Active faith that lives within, 
Conquers earth, and hell, and sin, 
Sanctifies and makes us whole, 
Forms the Saviour in the soul." 

" Let us for this faith contend ; 
Sure salvation is its end." 

The excellence of love is set forth, — 

" Let us then as brethren love" — 

" Write thy law of love within. 
Hence may all our actions flow ; 
Love, the proof that Christ we know ; 
Mutual love the token be, 
Lord, that we belong to thee. 
Love, thine image, love impart ; 
Stamp it on our face and heart ! " 

The importance of meekness, patience, and 
humility is stated — 

" Plant in us thy humble mind; 
Patient, pitiful, and kind, 
Meek and lowly let us be, 
Full of goodness, full of thee." 

The necessity of entire holiness is also set before 
us — 

" Make us all in thee complete, 
Make us all for glory meet, 
Meet to appear before thy sight, 
Partners with the saints in light." 
U 



218 wesletan hymnology; or a companion 

" Cleanse from all unrighteousness : 
Thee the unholy cannot see ; 
Make, O make us meet for thee ! 
Every vile aifection kill ; 
Root out every seed of ill ; 
Utterly abolish sin." 

Hymns 523 to 528 are all much of the same 
stamp, and abound in most excellent petitions. 
Happy indeed will they be who make these 
petitions their own, and who realize the answer 
to them in their experience and practice. 

Hymn 529— "Holy Lamb, who thee confess." — 

Here we have an admirable delineation of prac- 
tical piety. The believer is taught, after the 
example of his divine Master, to intermix in a 
proper way public and private engagements, 
secular and religious duties; so that neither 
shall be pursued to the neglect of the other. 
The proper exercises of faith and love — prayer 
and intercourse with God, together with works 
of benevolence towards our fellow-creatures — 
getting good ourselves, and doing good to others 
— are presented to our view in appropriate and 
beautiful language. And the poet finally pushes 
the parallel between Christ and the believer so 
far, that he represents the latter, like his Master, 
as bowing his head and dying on the sacred tree: 
though the latter circumstance, dying on the 
sacred tree, is peculiar to the Eedeemer, and 
inapplicable to his followers. 

Hymns 530, 531 are addressed, the former to 
the Holy Spirit, the second to the Redeemer. 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 219 

They abound in excellent petitions, and well 
become those who are hungering and thirsting 
after righteousness, and longing to realize the 
length and breadth, the depth and height of 
divine love. 

Hymn 532 is usually denominated the Covenant 
Hymn, being employed at the solemn service 
generally held on the first Sabbath in the new 
year, when the Wesley an Societies are invited 
and encouraged publicly to renew their covenant 
with God. It teaches us to lay hold, by faith, of 
the promises of our heavenly Father, and to 
enter into covenant with him through Jesus 
Christ, so that his precious blood may be applied 
to us, all our sins taken away, and our names 
registered in the Lamb's book of life. 

The Section for the Society at parting contains 
some excellent hymns, 533 to 539, which breathe 
in an eminent degree the spirit of Christian 
affection and brotherly love. The Redeemer's 
disciples are represented as joyful to meet in 
their religious services and duties, thus renewing 
their spiritual strength, thus acquiring all those 
supj)lies of divine grace which they need from 
time to time ; and then at the close of such ser- 
vices willing to part, retiring cheerfully to their 
respective abodes, piusuing their accustomed 
duties in the name and with the blessing of 
their great Master, and anticipating the final 
meeting of all the saints of the Most High in 
the regions of everlasting blessedness. 



220 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OR A COMPANION 

In Hymn 533 a sentiment adopted, in an un- 
warrantable and pernicious way, by some of the 
advocates of infidelity is rescued out of their 
hands, and applied to the case of true Christians. 

" We, only we, can say, 
Whatever is, is best." 

Others indeed have presumed to adopt this lan- 
guage ; but what right has the infidel, the sen- 
sualist, the careless sinner, to say so? If the 
kind and wise and ah-controlling providence of 
God be denied, then the assertion is falsified ; for 
supposing that scheme to be true, we might say, 
in cases innumerable, that which really is, is not 
the best — a much better state of things might 
exist. There would, on that supposition, be no 
redeeming feature in the circumstances of man- 
kind ; all would be gloomy and distressing in the 
extreme. And the careless and impenitent sinner 
has no right to adopt such language, or to appro- 
priate to himself any of the consolation which it 
is calculated to yield. For allowing the existence 
of such providential care, the impenitent sinner 
places himself beyond its range, voluntarily 
withdraws from its influences, and relinquishes 
all share in its benefits. For him it is not true, 
that whatever is, is best; for him it would be 
inconceivably better, were he at once to abandon 
all his sins, return unto his heavenly Father, 
and enter into covenant with him through faith 
in the Eedeemer. But the sentiment, when re- 
stricted to the true believer, is perfectly correct, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 221 

and is, in fact, nothing more than an inference 
deducible from that scriptural declaration, all 
things work together for good to them that love 
God. 

Hymns 535, 536, 537, though in three different 
metres, are all of the same stamp, and dwell most 
delightfully on the blessed and glorious union of 
the saints in the heavenly world. The cessation 
of all toil and grief and pain — the termination of 
the ravages of death — the meeting never to be 
succeeded by parting — the dissolution of the 
present earth and heavens — the falling of moun- 
tains and stars and skies — the appearance of a 
new world, a world of righteousness and love — 
the association with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and the whole church of the first-born — the 
union of saints and angels — the beatific vision 
of the glorified Kedeemer — his followers stand- 
ing with him on Mount Zion, and taking part in 
the everlasting anthem which shall resound 
through those realms of glory and bliss, and 
shall embody the grateful and triumphant ac- 
clamations of all the hosts of heaven — all these 
grand and magnificent ideas are worked up in 
these hymns in a masterly way. They who sing 
such compositions with the spirit and with the 
understanding also, cannot fail to rise above all 
that is earthly and temporal; while sojourning 
here below, they will breathe the air of Paradise, 
and anticipate the joys of heaven, 

Hymn 538 is remarkably smooth and melodious, 
u2 



222 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY; OR A COMPANION 

admirably adapted to the sentiments expressed, 
and teaching believers how they may live as 
angels, while on earth. 

Hymn 539 is full of excellent advices, ex- 
hortations, and prayers. It encourages believers 
to expect the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to 
anticipate their final admission into Paradise. 
It represents them as waiting, till Christ shall 
come in the morning of the general resurrection, 
to receive all his faithful servants to himself, and 
to introduce them to the full and endless enjoy- 
ment of his glory. The closing lines are emi- 
nently beautiful, solemn, and affecting — 

" Live, till the Lord in glory come, 

And wait, his heaven to share : 

He now is fitting up your home : 

Go on — we'll meet you there." 

Thus Christians are taught to stimulate and 
encourage one another, that they may persevere 
even to the end; and at the same time they 
pledge themselves to be faithful, and avow their 
determination, by divine grace, never to turn 
aside, never to draw back, but to meet their 
brethren at the right hand of God, in the abodes 
of eternal blessedness. 

Hymns 540, 541, 542, 544 are well adapted 
for public worship. Hymns 540, 541 are fine 
paraphrases of the one hundredth and of the 
eighty-fourth Psalms ; and 542 is a paraphrase 
of that truly excellent and devotional passage in 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 223 

the Cornixiunion service, beginning — Therefore 
with angels and archangels, &c. 

Hymn 543 was originally published as a Grace 
after Meat. It breathes in an eminent degree 
the spirit of grateful and adoring love ; and some 
of the expressions are rather too strong for a 
promiscuous congregation — 

" Thine, only thine, we pant to be." 
" Heavenward our every wish aspires." 

If the hymn be used for public worship, the 
congregation should be exhorted to turn such 
declarations into petitions, and to pray that, by 
divine grace, this may become their experience. 

Hymns 545 to 552 are exceedingly proper to 
use, in celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper. They admirably point out the nature 
and design of that ordinance ; the principles 
involved and the great truths exhibited therein. 
They present to our view the guilt, depravity, 
and helplessness of man ; the atonement effected 
by the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the way of access to God through 
his sacrifice and intercession ; together with the 
attainment of pardon and holiness through faith 
in the Eedeemer. They teach us to eat the 
sacramental bread and drink the sacramental 
wine, as emblems of the body of Jesus crucified 
for us, and of his blood poured out on Calvary, 
and as representing the union subsisting between 
Christ and the believer, and the strength and life 



224 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

and consolation which the believer thus receives. 
These hymns are mostly, if not altogether, formed 
on the sentiments expressed in an excellent 
treatise on the Lord's supper by Dr. Brevint, 
which was abridged and published by Mr. Wesley. 
The sentiments are those of Brevint, but they 
are embellished by Charles Wesley with all the 
charms of sacred poetry. At the close of the last 
verse of Hymn 551 we have these lines — 

" To every faithful soul appear, 
And show thy real presence here." 

$ 

There is here perhaps a reference to the opinion 
of those Christians, who have somewhat modified 
the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation, by 
supposing that, although the bread and wine in 
the Lord's supper are not literally converted into 
the body and blood of the Redeemer, there still 
is, in conjunction with the consecrated elements, 
the real presence of his body and blood. Discard- 
ing all such gross, carnal, and unscriptural ideas, 
we are notwithstanding taught that, when we 
celebrate this Christian ordinance in a proper 
spirit and in the exercise of faith, we do indeed 
eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ ; not 
in a corporeal, but in a mystical and spiritual 
way. We may expect, and we shall have his real 
presence ; that is, his spiritual presence, his mani- 
fested favour, his blessing, his salvation. 

Hymn 552 is one of great poetical beauty and 
excellence. The writer notices, in bold and 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 2 '2 5 

striking language, the signs and wonders accom- 
panying or following the death of Christ. The 
graves are opened, the rocks are rent asunder, 
the earth quakes, the heavenly bodies are affected, 
all nature is convulsed. What is the cause of 
all this ? The cause is this — Jesus drinks the 
bitter cup, tasting death for every man. He, 
who is truly the great Jehovah, dies. The sun is 
represented as sympathizing with the sufferer, 
and withdrawing his light — the heavens put on 
the lively of woe — the hosts above mourn, the 
very skies become sad : for He who now dies is 
not only the Creator of man, but the God of 
angels, the object of supreme adoration and 
love to seraphim and cherubim. In verse 2 the 
poet takes advantage of a rumour mentioned by 
Plutarch, as connected with the history of the 
heathen god Pan. Plutarch states that, in the 
reign of Tiberius, who was emperor of Eome at 
the time of our Saviour's crucifixion, an extra- 
ordinary voice was heard near some islands in 
the Ionian sea, which exclaimed — The great 
Pan is dead. The augurs were consulted on the 
occasion by the emperor, but they could not 
explain the meaning of this supernatural voice. 
Whether this were mere imagination, or gratu- 
itous fiction, or a political contrivance, we cannot 
perhaps say ; but at all events the jjoet applies 
it to good purpose. Many of the heathens paid 
great honours to the god Pan, whom they regarded 
as the source of fecundity, and as the principle 



226 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

or origin of all things. Hence by them the death 
of Pan would be considered a great and general 
calamity. Now all this was heathenish super- 
stition and error. What they in their ignorance 
attributed to Pan, belonged really and truly to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source and 
origin of all tilings, the beginning of the creation 
of God. Well, therefore, does our poet sing — 

" Dies the glorious cause of all ! 
The true, eternal Pan 
Falls, to raise us from our fall, 
To rescue sinful man ! " 

Thus, as the Christian apostle, preaching at 
Athens, seized that fine saying of the Greek poet 
Clean thes — We are his offspring — addressed by 
him to the imaginary god, Jupiter, the supreme 
deity of the Greeks and Eomans, and forcibly 
applied it to Him, to whom alone it properly 
belongs, even to that God who made the icorld 
and all things therein, and who is Lord of heaven 
and earth ; so our Christian poet seizes the story 
of Pan and the supernatural voice announcing 
his death, and applies it to the blessed Eedeemer 
and his death. Thus what would in its original 
application be frivolous and false, is dignified by 
being associated with divine truth, and with 
events of a most interesting and important 
character. 

For this, Charles Wesley has the example of 
Milton, who, in his "Hymn for the morning of 
Christ's nativity," says — 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 227 

" The shepherds on the lawn, 
Or e'er the point of dawn, 

Sat simply chatting in a rustic row ; 
Full little thought they then 
That the mighty Pan 

Was kindly come to live with them below ." 

We have another instance of this in that very 
beautiful and devotional piece, entitled " E upolis's 
Hymn to the Creator ; from the Greek." This 
appeared originally in the volmne published by 
the two brothers in 1739, under the title of 
" Hymns and Sacred Poems," and is generally 
thought, and on good ground, to have been the 
production of the Eev. Samuel Wesley, Eector of 
Epworth. This noble address to the Deity begins 
thus — 

"Author of being, source of light, 
With unfading beauties bright, 
Fulness, goodness, rolling round 
Thy own fair orb without a bound : 
Whether thee thy suppliants call 
Truth, or good, or one, or all, 
Ei or Jao ; thee we hail, 
Essence that can never fail, 
Grecian or Barbaric name, 
Thy stedfast being still the same." 

Here, among the appellations given to the Deity, 
we have all, which is exactly equivalent to Pan, 
being the English translation of that Greek 
word. Further on in the poem the Supreme 
Being is expressly called Pan — 

" Thy herbage, O great Pan, sustains 
The flocks that graze our Attic plains ; 



228 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

The olive, with fresh verdure crown'd, 
Rises pregnant from the ground ; 
At thy command it shoots and springs, 
And a thousand blessings brings." 

In the close of the poem we again find the same 
idea — 



" O Father ! King ! whose heavenly face 
Shines serene on all thy race ! 
We thy magnificence adore, 
And thy well-known aid implore ; 
Nor vainly for thy help we call ; 
Nor can we want ; for thou art all." 

Thou art all ; as though he had said, The name 
Pan properly belongs to Thee ; for Thou art 
the Creator and Preserver, the Benefactor and 
Governor of all; the Father and the Friend of 
the human race. 

Verse 4 is solemn, pathetic, and impassioned; 
the person reading or singing the hymn is sap- 
posed to realize the affecting scene ; and lo ! he 
feels the mortal smart ; his very heart is broken ; 
then in the meltings of his tenderness and grati- 
tude he turns to his fellow-sinners, inviting them 
to contemplate and to love Him who died for 
them. In verse 5, out' meditations are tinned 
away from the sufferings and death of Christ to 
his resurrection and ascension ; and then sorrow 
gives place to joy and exultation. 

Hymn 553 is a fine and spirited composition 
on the death and the resurrection of Christ; 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 229 

mourning on account of the former, but triumph- 
ing in the consideration of the latter. 

Hymn 554 — " Our Lord is risen from the dead." 

This is a truly beautiful and magnificent hymn. 
The fine poetical imagery of Psalm xxiv. 7 to 10, 
is the foundation, and suggests the principal 
ideas. This sacred song was probably composed, 
like Psalm lxviii., on that joyous occasion, when 
the ark of the covenant was removed from the 
house of Obed-Edominto the city of David. On 
the former removal of the ark from the house of 
Abinadab at Gibeah, David and all the house of 
Israel played before the Lord on various musical 
instruments; and when, after remaining three 
months in the house of Obed-Edom, the ark was 
taken to Jerusalem, and deposited in the taber- 
nacle that had been prepared for it, it was a 
season of great rejoicing ; the pious monarch 
dancing before the Lord with all his might, 
burnt offerings and peace-offerings being pre- 
sented, with shouting and the sound of the 
trumpet. One party appearing with the ark, 
before the gates of the city, would probably 
repeat verse 7 — Lift up your heads, ye gates ; 
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors ; and the 
King of glory shall come in. Another party, 
within the gates, would then propose the enquiry 
in Terse 8 — Who is this King of glory? The 
question would be duly answered by the party 
outside— The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, 
x 



280 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ', OK A COMPANION 

mighty in battle. Then, a second time, the 
demand of admission would be made, the en- 
quiry proposed, and the answer returned; as in 
verses 9, 10. In a far more interesting and more 
sublime way, we may suppose something of this 
kind to have occurred, when our blessed Redeemer, 
having accomplished the great work of human 
redemption, ascended on high, and with his 
glorified human body re-entered the heavenly 
world. He is represented as riding in his 
triumphal chariot, leading captive the powers 
of hell, arriving at the portals of the celestial 
city. Attendant angels chant his praises, and 
demand, on his behalf, that the gates shall be 
thrown wide open, that the everlasting doors 
shall be lifted up, and that he shall be solemnly 
ushered into those mansions, which he claims 
as his own. The enquiry is then raised, Who is 
this King of glory f In reply, his name is given, 
and some of his exploits are enumerated. A 
second enquiry and a second reply lead to a con- 
firmation of the former statement, with additional 
titles and dignities bestowed upon him ; the 
last being the highest and most glorious of all, 
and involving absolute, supreme, and eternal 
deity — God over all, for ever bless d. The whole 
subject, when thus applied to the ascension of 
the Lord Jesus, and his reception in the abodes 
of endless bliss, is invested with the deejDest 
importance, and exhibits all the beauty and 
sublimity which characterize poetry of the high- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 231 

est order. One might indeed say, without any 
impropriety, that the Jewish hard is here excelled 
by the Christian poet ; because the latter, guided 
by the superior light of the gospel dispensation, 
and enjoying in the largest measure the gift of 
the Holy Spirit, understood these divine mysteries 
far better than even the favoured son of Jesse 
could understand them in his day. 

Hymn 556 is an excellent and evangelical 
paraphrase of Psalm cxxi. It beautifully sets 
forth the safety and security of those who trust 
in the providential care of their heavenly Father ; 
and, in the concluding verse, holds out to the 
Christian believer the great privilege of being 
made like his spotless Master — -full of wisdom, love, 
and power — holy, pure, and perfect. 

Hymn 557 is a fine and cheerful composition, 
well adapted for public use, in the great con- 
gregation. 

Hymn 558—" Come, Lord, from above, The mountains 
remove." — 

In this lively and instructive hymn the way of 
salvation is clearly pointed out, and we are taught 
that it is to be obtained not by works of righteous- 
ness which we have done, but through faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The marrow of the gospel 
scheme lies in those beautiful lines — 

" Who on Jesus relies, Without money or price, 
The pearl of forgiveness and holiness buys." 

Hymn 559 is an elegant composition on the 
mystery of Divine Providence, and abounds in 



232 WESLEYAN HYMXOLOGY. 

poetical figures and images. The sea, the storm, 
the subterranean regions, where the labours of 
the miner and the collier are carried on, the 
clouds, the fertilizing showers, the sun shining 
out after the rain, the process of vegetation in the 
bud, ripening and unfolding itself, till the flower 
appeal's — all these are seized on by the poet, and 
laid under contribution to his purpose. Some 
have objected to the antithesis in these two 
lines — 

" The bud may have a bitter taste, 
But sweet will be the flower." 

This, it has been said, is not correct, because 
flowers are not literally sweet — not sweet in that 
sense in which sweet is the reverse of bitter. A 
bud is truly and literally bitter ; but a flower is 
not truly and literally sweet; not sweet to the 
taste, whatever it may be to the smell. If this, 
however, be a blemish, it is only one fault in the 
midst of many excellences ; and the hymn has 
been, in instances innumerable, a source of en- 
couragement and consolation to the tried, afflicted, 
and distressed followers of the Redeemer. 



CHAPTER X 

REMARKS ON VARIOUS HYMNS, CONCLUDED. 

Hymns 561, 601, 649 are dignified and instructive 
compositions, addressed respectively to the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They are valuable, 
as embodying many scriptural ideas as to that 
which belongs specially and peculiarly to each of 
the distinct Persons of the Godhead. 

Hymns 564, 565, 566 are an elegant paraphrase 
of that sublime devotional piece, so admirably 
adapted to public worship — Te Deum laudamus. 
There is a paraphrase on the Te Deum ascribed 
to Dryden, and inserted in the edition of his 
works, published at Edinburgh, in 18 volumes, in 
1821. It is in the usual decasyllabic verse, and 
begins thus — 

" Thee, Sovereign God, our grateful accents praise; 
Yv T e own thee Lord, and bless thy wondrous ways." 

But that given in the Wesley an Hymn Book is 
greatly superior. It is found in the volume enti- 
tled " Hymns for those that seek, and those that 
have, redemption in the blood of Jesus Christ" — 
the third edition of which was published in 1751. 
X 2 



234 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY \ OR A COMPANION 

The Hymns in Section I. of the Supplement, 
561 to 600, are, in general, well adapted for public 
worship, and may be used with advantage in 
the great congregation. There is, however, in 
some of them one fault, which ought to be 
noticed ; that is, the entire absence of any 
reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, or to the 
glorious work of redemption, or to the benefits 
of that redemption as realized by the believer. 
Some of them are hymns such as might be sung 
by the holy angels, or such as might have been 
sung by Adam previous to his fall. If, for 
instance, we refer to that fine composition of 
Addison, Hymn 592, we find it abounding in 
noble sentiments, grateful acknowledgments of 
the divine goodness, and devout resolutions to 
praise and glorify God. But is it not strange 
that the poet, while referring to the various dis- 
plays of the divine benevolence, and enumerating 
some of the blessings bestowed upon him by a 
bountiful God, never once refers to the inestim- 
able gift of God's only -begotten Son, never 
alludes to the glorious work of human redemp- 
tion? He does indeed speak of dangers, toils, and 
deaths, and of the pleasing snares of vice; but 
there is no expression whatever conveying any 
idea that man is a polluted and guilty creature, 
or that he needs the pardon of his sins and a, 
change of heart. This hymn, therefore, though 
excellent, as far as it goes, is chargeable with a 
capital defect, an unpardonable omission. It 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 235 

needs to have some such hymn as 595, or 640, or 
37 appended to it, in order to make it suitable 
to a Christian congregation. It does not, either 
directly or indirectly, recognize Him who is the 
only way of access to the Father, the only medium 
of inter course between the just and holy God 
and his guilty and polluted creatures, without 
whom neither will our praises be accepted nor 
our prayers be answered. 

Our hymns of praise to Almighty God should 
always be formed somewhat on the model of 
that admirable thanksgiving in our national 
liturgy, which teaches us to bless God for our 
creation, preservation, and all the blessings of 
this life, but above all, for his inestimable love in 
the redemption of the world, by our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Minor blessings ought not to be for- 
gotten; but we should ever acknowledge the 
gift of the Saviour, and the redemption of the 
world through him, as the most amazing display 
of the divine benevolence, and as claiming from 
us the most ardent gratitude, the most livery 
praises, and the most devout consecration of all 
our ransomed powers to the service of our 
heavenly Father. The same inexcusable defi- 
ciency appears in other compositions of con- 
siderable poetical merit ; as in Hymns 567, 765 ; 
where, if the authorship were unknown, one 
would hardly suspect that they were written by a 
Christian. 

Hymn 583—" Again our weekly labours end." — 



236 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

The writer of this hymn, the Eev. Joseph 
Stennett, was a Baptist minister, and pastor of 
a church which met in Pinner's Hall, London. 
He died in 1713, aged fifty years. His works 
were puhlished in 4 volumes 8vo. ; the last of 
which contains the piece from which, with con- 
sider ahle alterations, this hymn has heen taken. 

The hymns on the incarnation of Christ, 602 
to 605, and those on his character as the Light 
of the Gentiles, the Light of the world, Immanuel, 
God with us, 606 to 609, are fine specimens of 
sacred poetry, and present to us ahnost every 
idea that can he legitimately connected with those 
most interesting topics. 

Hymn 613 on the crucifixion, is solemn, grand, 
and dignified, well adapted to the subject. 

Hymns 614, 615, 619 refer to the sacrifices of 
the Mosaic law, as mere types or emblems of the 
sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ, when he expired 
on Calvary. 

Hymn 616 is an instructive and encouraging 
composition, in the same cheerful and lively 
metre as Hymns 160, 205, 558. It teaches the 
poor helpless sinner how he may avail himself 
of the provisions of redeeming mercy, and, by 
faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ, secure a 
present pardon and salvation. 

Hymns 617, 618, 621, 622, 623 are all very 
excellent, both in sentiment and in language. 

Hymn 624 beautifully takes up the idea of the 
rock cleft, as applicable to the Redeemer of the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 237 

world, and expresses the believer's determination 
to renounce every other plea, and to depend solely 
on the atonement of Christ for pardon and eternal 
life. 

Hymn 625 is a very lively and spirited com- 
position; in which, without indulging in any 
unscriptural fancies or speculations, the poet 
endeavoius to show how the holy angels have 
been instructed and benefited by the glorious 
scheme of human redemption. The scene so 
graphically described in verses 4, 5, we may 
conceive to be something like what actually 
occurred, when the Eedeemer entered with his 
glorified body into the courts of heaven. If at 
the time of his first appearance in our world, 
when he was just entering on his all-important 
work, the Father had said — Let all the angels of 
God worship him ; now, that he had finished that 
work, having made atonement for all the sins of 
all mankind, and was retiirning to his native 
skies, to resume the glory which for a time he 
had laid aside, and to present his human nature 
among the tenants of those blissful regions, it is 
reasonable to suppose that the holy angels would 
hail his return, and hasten to pay their homage 
to him whom they acknowledge as their Creator 
and their Lord. In verse 5 we have a bold and 
striking passage — 

" The wounds, the Mood ! they heard its voice, 
That heighten'd all their highest joys." 

For ascribing a voice to the blood of Christ, oxu' 



238 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

poet has the authority of the apostle (Heb. xii. 
24) ; and the fine hyperbole in the next line may 
remind us of some noble lines of Milton, who 
introduces Satan as saying — 

" And in the lowest deep, a lower deep, 
Still threatening to devour me, opens wide." 

And we have another parallel in the saying of 
the apostle, who calls himself less than the least 
of all saints. 

In the close of this admirable hymn, the poet, 
having spoken of the inconceivable happiness of 
the angels, says — 

" But all your heaven, ye glorious powers, 
And all your God is doubly ours." 

Yes ; as redeemed sinners, we have, so to speak, 
a double claim to all these blessings. We expect 
them, as being children of God, and if children, 
then heirs; heirs of the blissful inheritance 
above : we expect them, as resulting from the 
unbounded benevolence of our heavenly Father 
towards us, his unworthy children. But we ex- 
pect them also as the purchase of the blood 
of Jesus Christ, and in virtue of that peculiar 
relationship subsisting between us and the Ee- 
deemer. For we have a greater interest in him, 
than the holy angels have ; he is our kinsman, 
our brother ; and we are not only heirs of God, 
but joint-heirs with Christ ; and we accordingly 
expect to share in all the honours and enjoy- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 239 

ments allotted to our Saviour's glorified human 
nature. The wonderful scheme of redemption 
has conferred on us double benefits, and laid 
us under double obligations. For now in our 
ascriptions of praise to the Lamb of God, we can 
join in the new song, and use language which 
the holy angels cannot adopt, exclaiming, in 
everlasting transjDorts of gratitude and joy — 
Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by 
thy blood. Unto him that loved us, and washed us 
from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him 
be glory and dominion for ever and ever ; Amen. 

The hymns on the resurrection and ascension 
of Christ, 629 to 633, are all of superior excel- 
lence, both as to sentiment and as to diction. 
Some indeed have objected to a couplet of verse 2, 
Hymn 633— 

" All thy people are forgiven 
Through the virtue of thy blood" — 

as though it intimated something like the doc- 
trine of universal pardon, or favoured the anti- 
nomian error. These objections, however, are not 
well founded. The passage does not state in a 
loose and general way that all persons, indiscrimi- 
nately, are forgiven, but only all thy people; 
which is just tantamount to the promise — He 
shall save his people from their sins. All thy 
people evidently means all true believers, and 
none besides; all who, repenting of their sins, 



240 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

apprehend the pro visions of the gospel, by faith 
in Christ. We have the same sentiment in verse 
5 of Hymn 5 — 

" We all are forgiven For Jesus' s sake" — 

where no qualifying word is expressed ; but the 
meaning is obvious — We all, that is, all true 
believers. In the preceding lines the poet had 
been exhorting his fellow-sinners to return to 
God— 

" Then let us submit His grace to receive, 
Fall down at his feet And gladly believe ; 

Then follows the line — 

We all are forgiven For Jesus's sake" — 

As though he had said — In this way and on these 
terms, we all may be forgiven : if we submit to 
God, receive his grace, and believe in the Saviour, 
we shall all be forgiven, for Christ's sake; and 
then through his atonement, we acquire a good 
and valid title to the heavenly inheritance — for, 

" Our title to heaven His merits we take." 

There is reason to believe that this fine hymn 
was composed by the venerable John Bakewell, 
of Greenwich. He wrote many hymns ; and in 
his own family circle this was always regarded as 
one of the number. It appeared in one edition of 
the general Hymn Book, published many years 
ago; but was afterwards omitted. It is found 
also in the collection of hymns for the use of Lady 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK, 241 

Huntingdon's congregations ; which may be ac- 
counted for thus. Mr. Bakewell was on terms of 
intimacy with the Rev. A. M. Toplady; and the 
hymn was probably given by him to Mr. Toplady 
for publication. This excellent man was one of 
the very first that laboured as a local preacher, in 
connexion with the Wesley s and the early Me- 
thodists; having begun to act in that capacity 
about 1749. His mortal remains he in the bury- 
ing ground adjoining the City Road Chapel in 
London ; and the inscription on his tomb-stone 
states, that " he died March 18, 1819, aged ninety- 
eight years, having adorned the doctrine of God 
oui' Saviour eighty years, and having preached 
his glorious Gospel about seventy years." A 
letter written by Mr. Bakewell was inserted in the 
Methodist Magazine for 1816, page 538. 

Hymn 639 is a very beautiful and spirited 
paraphrase of the former part of Psalm xlv. In 
this composition, which is eminently character- 
istic of Charles Wesley, the English poet ap- 
pears to have caught somewhat of that sacred 
fire which glowed in the bosom of the Hebrew 
monarch and bard, when he penned the truly 
noble original. 

Hymn 640 is a very cheerful and spirited 
composition, and a general favourite among true 
Christians. It is founded on the scene depicted 
in Revelation v. 11 to 13; and represents heaven 
and earth, angels and men, yea, the whole intelli- 
gent creation, as united in the delightful work of 

Y 



242 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

praising the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God that 
was slain for sinful man. 

Hymn 645 beautifully applies the Jewish festi- 
val of the jubilee to the Christian dispensation, 
reminding sinners that in this sense the year of 
jubilee is come; and inviting them, on this 
ground, to return home to their God and Saviour, 
that they may regain their liberty, recover their 
forfeited inheritance, and secure all the invalu- 
able blessings so freely offered in the glorious 
gosj^el. 

Hyinn 647 is a fine hymn in sentiment and 
expression, though defective in the rhyme. 

Hymns 612, 620, 634, 636, 646, 648, 679, 680, 
744, though unexceptionable in point of senti- 
ment, are deficient in poetical merit and in 
dignity of language, and are scarcely worthy of 
being associated with the elegant and impas- 
sioned productions of Charles Wesley. 

Hymns 651, 656, though not of Wesley an 
origin, are excellent both in sentiment and in 
language, and point out the expeiience of a true 
Christian in a clear, distinct, and impressive way. 

Hymn 669 — " The God of Abraham praise." — 

670 — " Though nature's strength decay." — 
671—" Before the great Three-One"— 

This is a fine and noble conrposition ; though 
the metre is very uncommon, and the short line 
of four syllables, recurring in every fourth line, 
may be thought somewhat deficient in dignity. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 243 

But the sentiments are so excellent, the language 
so manly, the flow of the metre and rhyme so 
easy and regular, and withal the spirit of the 
whole so devotional and edifying, and its ex- 
hibition of Christian privileges and Christian 
prospects so encouraging and delightful, that 
the Irynm is highly valued by all who know 
how to appreciate sacred poetry. 

Hymns 673, 674, 675 are admirable compo- 
sitions, as recommending, by various weighty 
considerations, unlimited trust in Divine Pro- 
vidence. The two former esjoecially abound 
in bold, just, and well-expressed sentiments. 
Hymn 674, though a translation from the Ger- 
man, has considerable beauty of diction. In the 
first, second, and fourth lines of verse 1, instead 
of the regular movement of three iambuses, we 
have a trochee and two iambuses. Hence the 
first syllable being long, and strongly accented, 
and being immediately followed by two short 
syllables, this arrangement gives to those lines a 
very spirited and lively character. 

Give to | the winds ] thy^ fears — 
Hope and | be un j dismayed — 
God shall | lift up j thy" head— 

The third line being longer, consisting entirely 
of monosyllables, and commencing with a spondee 
instead of an iambus, is strongly distinguished 
from the other lines by a more slow, stately, and 
solemn movement — 



244 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

G5d hears | thy" sighs | arid counts | thy° tears- 
Here we are, as it were, compelled to reckon 
every word, one by one. And this may be con- 
sidered as intimating the minute and condescend- 
ing attention paid to our concerns by the God of 
heaven : as though every single sigh were heard, 
as though every single tear were noticed. Terse 
2 also is peculiarly excellent; the first and third 
lines consist entirely of monosyllables, the first 
beginning with a spondee ; the third, with two 
spondees, which are followed by a trochee and an 
iambus — 

Through waves | and clouds | and storms- 
Wait thou | his time j so shall | this night — 

The slow and measured movement of these lines 
accords admirably with the great duty enjoined 
— that of waiting patiently for God. 

The last verse of tins hymn is intimately con- 
nected with the name of the late excellent William 
Dawson, of Barnbow, near Leeds, and with the 
lecord of his dying moments. That eminently 
useful man, when just on the j)oint of passing into 
eternity, commenced repeating this verse, and had 
just strength enough to say — 

" Let us in life, in death, 
Thy stedfast truth declare." 

He could proceed no further ; Iris voice was lost in 
death, and he immediately fell asleep in Jesus. 

Hymn 677 is a beautiful paraphrase and appli- 
cation of verses ] , 2, 4, of Psalm cxxv. And here, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 245 

as in all similar cases, our Christian poet is careful 
not to rest merely in such views as might he sup- 
posed to he adopted hy an enlightened heathen, 
or a devout Jew : hut he casts the whole into a 
Christian mould, by introducing the sprinkled 
blood of the Eedeemer, and Jesus guardian love. 
If Addison had paraphrased that same psalm, he 
would have thrown into his composition equal 
elegance and strength of diction, hut he would 
have said probably nothing about the sprinkled 
blood, or the love of Jesus, or the sanctification of 
the soul. 

Hymn 681 is a spirited application, to be- 
lievers generally, of the noble sentiment uttered 
by St. Paul, hi reference to his public and 
ministerial labours. 

Hymn 682 is a fine and instructive declaration 
of trust in Christ, as a complete and all-sufficient 
Saviour. It encourages us to expect most con- 
fidently, that through the power and grace of 
God, and through faith in the Eedeemer, we 
shall, while living here below, obtain the pearl of 
perfect love or entire holiness. 

Hymn 683 — Here the metaphor of looking 
unto Christ is beautifully and strikingly applied. 
Believers are represented as gazing upward, till 
they feel the stamp divine; that beholding the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, they 
may be changed into the same image. The 
life of the true Christian is finely described in 
verse 3 — 



246 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGT J OK A COMPANION 

" that our life might be 
One looking up to thee !" 

and so closely is the life of grace on earth con- 
nected with the life of glory in heaven, that the 
poet almost insensibly glides from one to the 
other, and concludes with one of Ms favourite 
wishes, that our probation may be instantly ter- 
minated, and time exchanged for eternity. 

Hymn 684 applies the history of Daniel's 
deliverance from the lions to the case of the 
believer, exercised by various troubles and 
dangers ; and teaches us to rely on the God of 
Daniel, who is still supreme and almighty ; on 
Jesus, the Angel of the covenant, who, indeed, 
is identical with the Lord and God of Daniel. 

Hymn 686 shows us how Christians are called 
to imitate the faith manifested by Abraham, when 
he left his country and his kindred, going forth in 
obedience to the divine command, not knowing 
whither he went, but relying on the goodness and 
wisdom, power and fidelity of his covenant God. 

Hymn 688 is an expansion of our Lord's words 
— Blessed are the pure in lie art ; for they shall see 
God. It teaches us to pray for spotless purity, 
the purity of love ; perfect love upon earth, as 
preparatory to the glorious sight of God in 
heaven. 

Hymn 689- celebrates the kingdom of the 
Messiah, exhibits him as worthy, by reason of 
his glorious perfections, to sway the sceptre of 
universal empire, and invites angelic beings oi 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 247 

every order and rank to unite with earth-born 
man in the praises of the Eedeemer. Those 
exalted creatures, so high in glory and bliss, are 
exhorted to veil their eyes, to fall prostrate, and 
to cast their crowns before Him who is their 
Lord and King, as well as ours. 

Hymn 690 is a joyous and triumphant cele- 
bration of the same topic, the glorious and 
universal kingdom of Jesus Christ, and was 
originally intended to he sung in a tumult. 
Twice the poet boldly apostrophizes Satan and 
the infernal hosts, defying them in the name of 
the Lord, and commanding them to fear and 
tremble — 

" Every knee to him shall bow ; 
Satan, hear, and tremble now." 

" God with us, we cannot fear ; 
Fear, ye fiends, for Christ is here." 

How noble, how grand, how sublime is the atti- 
tude here assumed by the Christian believer ! 
exactly corresponding with the sentiments of the 
apostle, when, defying all the powers of darkness, 
he exclaimed — Who shall separate us from the 
love of Christ ? In all these things we are more 
than conquerors through him that loved us. In 
verses 4, 5, the interesting and instructive narra- 
tive of Elisha in the city of Dothan, sought after 
by the king of Syria, but defended by chariots of 
fire and horses of fire all around about the moun- 
tain, is beautifully applied. To the eye of sense 



248 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

the Christian appears exposed, defenceless, liable 
to ruin. His enemies are numerous and mighty ; 
how can he contend with them ? how can he pro- 
tect or extricate himself? his case appears 
hopeless, his destruction inevitable; but the 
blessed security of the child of God ! 

" Lo ! to faith's enlighten'd sight, 
All the mountain flames with light ; 
Hell is nigh ; but God is nigher, 
Circling us with hosts of fire." 

Yes ; his holy angels are the chariots of fire and 
horses of fire, sent to protect, defend, and deliver 
those who put their trust in him. If the almighty 
Jesus be our King, and we his loyal and obedient 
subjects, we need not fear the opposition of our 
enemies. We shall be enabled to triumph over 
all. 

Hymn 691 is founded on the views of the 
person, character, and work of the Redeemer fur- 
nished by the sacred writer, Eevelation vi. 2, and 
xix. 11 to 16. Whatever opinion we may enter- 
tain as to the interpretation of these and similar 
portions of Holy Writ, and as to the way in which 
the unfulfilled prophecies are to receive their 
accomplishment, we are perfectly safe in thus 
applying them to practical purposes, and in turn- 
ing them into prayers for the universal establish- 
ment of the kingdom of Christ. The poet does 
not dwell on any doubtful points, on any matters 
of mere speculation; but contents himself with 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 249 

those general views of the Redeemer's kingdom 
in which all sober-minded Christians concur. 

Hymns 692 to 703 all refer to the spread of 
the gospel, the universal effusion of the Holy 
Spirit, and the subjugation of the whole earth 
to the sceptre of Jesus Christ. They are ad- 
mirably adapted to missionary occasions and 
purposes. 

In Hymn 704 the poet avails himself of the 
sentiments ascribed to the Lord Jesus, when he 
was moved with compassion towards the multi- 
tudes, whom he beheld as sheep having no 
shepherd; and he appeals to Christ as the good 
Shepherd, on behalf of those who were not as 
yet gathered into his fold. 

Hymns 705, 706, 707, 708 are excellent prayers 
for the success of the preached gospel, and the 
prosperity of the work of God. 

Hymns 709, 710 are profitable aijplications of 
the prayer offered by the vine-dresser on behalf 
of the barren fig-tree — Let it alone this year also ; 
and are peculiarly appropriate to the beginning 
of a new year. 

Hymns 711, 714 are among the best compo- 
sitions of the excellent Doddridge ; they are 
beautiful, devout, cheerful, and edifying. 

Hymns 712, 713 admirably display the spirit 
and temper in which we ought ever to enter on 
a new year. They exhibit those recollections 
of the past, and those purposes as to the future, 
which are always proper, on those solemn and 



250 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OB A COMPANION 

interesting occasions.' That is a particularly 
sublime and delightful idea at the close of Hymn 
712, where the Lord Jesus is introduced as ap- 
pearing in the clouds, to 

- bring the grand sabbatic year, 



The jubilee of heaven." 

That will indeed he the great, the universal, the 
everlasting sabbath ; when all the united choirs 
of saints and angels shall sing the never-ending 
song of glory to the triune God. Earth has had 
its jubilees ; its seasons of liberty and exulta- 
tion and triumph ; but the jubilee of heaven is 
yet to come. Then will it commence, when all 
the designs of redeeming mercy shall have been 
accomplished ; when all the children of God of 
every age and place shall be gathered into one, 
and safely lodged in their final home, so that 
the family of God shall be presented complete, 
before his glorious presence. Then shall the 
circle of the heavenly hosts be filled up, no 
deficiency whatever remaining, and that world 
of glory shall resound with then joyful acclama- 
tions, "long as eternal ages roll." 

In Hymn 715 the poet contemplates the 
manner of our Saviour's death, and takes up one 
of the expressions which fell from his hps, while 
he was hanging on the cross. The dying saint 
is here encouraged to adopt the Redeemer's lan- 
guage as his own, and to believe, that, in so 
doing, he will obtain all the support and con- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 251 

solation that he will need at that solemn crisis. 
Some have objected to the first verse of this 
hymn, which speaks of the death of Christ as 
being all divine, and says that he expired like the 
Prince of life. It is true, indeed, that the Re- 
deemer was crucified through weakness; that was 
the climax of his humiliation and suffering and 
sorrow. But even in the agony and death of 
Jesus Christ there was something altogether 
peculiar ; something in which he differed from 
every other human being that ever submitted to 
the stroke of death. He humbled himself, and 
became obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross ; but, be it remembered, his humiliation was 
voluntary, not compulsory; his submission to 
death was optional, not necessary ; he was not, 
by nature, liable to death ; he laid down his life 
like one who knew, and who declared, that he had 
power to lay it down, and power to take it again. 
No other human being ever existed, who, having 
laid down his life, h.^ power to take it again. In 
him was life, essential life, eternal life; he was the 
Prince of life, life in all its varieties being subject 
to his disposal and control. His death may, 
therefore, be said to be all divine ; that is, it was 
not the death of a mere and ordinary mortal, but 
the death of one who was truly a divine Being ; 
and the manner in which he died, and 
the circumstances accompanying and following 
that event, unequivocally showed his divine 
character. 



252 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

Hymn 717 is a fine and deeply-affecting com- 
position. Perhaps the last line of yerse 2 — 

" Born only to lament and die " — 

is too strong, and tends to give too melancholy a 
view of human life. It corresponds with verse 1 
of Hymn 44 — " And am I only born to die ? " 
But when the mind is powerfully impressed with 
the momentous subjects of death and eternity, it 
is not to be wondered at, if for the time other 
things should vanish from our sight, and we 
should employ language that is somewhat hyper- 
bolical. The petition in verses 3, 4 may be 
adopted by the true Christian, with a full per- 
suasion that his request will be granted — 



- when thou sendest, Lord, for me, 



O let the messenger he love ! " 

" Whisper thy love into my heart ; 
Warn me of my approaching end." 

Here there is nothing wild, extravagant, or fanci- 
ful : all, though deeply solemn, is reasonable and 
consistent with Scripture. 

Hymns 718, 726 are beautiful adaptations of 
the language of the patriarch Job to the circum- 
stances and prospects of the Christian believer. 
In noble and triumphant strains he anticipates 
the resurrection of his body, and the rapturous 
and beatific vision of the Lord Jesus in his glory, 
and then he calmly and joyfully drops the 
mouldering clay, and waits for the coming of his 
Divine Redeemer. The sentiments are grand, 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 253 

and the diction is animated and dignified. We 
cannot fail to notice in the original passage, Job 
xix. 25, 26, 27 — the idea on which the venerable 
patriarch appeared to dwell with such delight — 
that he should see his Bedeemer, his God — and 
which is expressed thrice in three consecutive 
clauses — I shall see God — whom I shall see for 
myself — mine eyes shall behold and not another. 
Just so our poet thrice repeats the verb see in 
three consecutive lines of verse 3 — 

" Shall see that self-same Saviour nigh, 
See for myself my smiling Lord, 
See with ineffable delight." 

The alliteration in these three lines is also worthy 
of notice, there being eight words beginning with 
the letter s. 

Hymn 724 is written in a very lively and 
spirited metre, and expresses the full triumph of 
faith. It refers to the death of a saint, and 
teaches us to anticipate our re-union with pious 
departed friends in the heavenly world. So 
strong indeed is the faith here expressed, and so 
lively are the impressions of eternal things pro- 
duced thereby, that the distance between the 
present moment and that of our dissolution is, 
as it were, contracted into nothing, and the event 
is spoken of in the last verse, not as future, but 
as present. 

" The convoy attends, 
A ministering host of invisible friends. 
Z 



254 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

Ready wing'd for their flight 
To the regions of light 
The horses are come, 
The chariots of Israel to carry us home." 

Hymn 725 is an exquisitely beautiful and pa- 
thetic composition. Nothing can he more apjpro- 
priate to the case of the dying Christian ; nothing 
more consolatory, or more delightful. 

Hymns 733, 734, 735 are very fine and noble 
specimens of sacred poetry, which appeared first 
in the volume of " Funeral Hymns," published 
by Mr. Charles Wesley in 1759. Almost every 
idea that we can legitimately form, as to the 
state, employment, and happiness of departed 
saints, may be found embodied in these three 
hymns, and clothed in language glowing, yet 
chaste — elegant, yet simple— impassioned, yet 
correct. Hymn 733 describes the child of grace, 
his present happiness, his glorious prospects, his 
temporary separation from beloved friends by 
death, and his speedy re-union with them in the 
heavenly world. In this blessed hope he exults 
while here below, and, longing that mortality 
may be swallowed up in life, he prays that the 
earthen vessel may break, and that he may be 
allowed at once to depart, and to gaze for ever on 
the beatific vision. 

Hymn 734 is peculiarly adapted to those who 
are enfeebled by age or by disease, and who are 
expecting soon to enter the eternal world. It 
enters more fully into the enjoyments of the 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 255 

heavenly state, and places before the eye of faith 
rivers of life — trees of paradise — the vivifying 
stream — the ambrosial fruit — a world of bright 
spirits, all radiant with glory, following the Lamb 
— striking their harmonious lutes, and praising 
the triune Deity. With such prospects the child 
of God, in the midst of all his trials and sorrows, 
enters into the spirit of the apostle's sentiment — 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared ivith the glory which shall be 
revealed in us — and triumphantly exclaims — 

" O what are all my sufferings here, 
If, Lord, thou count me meet 
With that enraptur'd host to appear, 
And worship at thy feet ! " 

These admirable words have probably yielded 
consolation to thousands of pious souls, when 
they have been passing through the valley of the 
shadow of death, and contending with the last 
enemy ; when they have been on the very point 
of exchanging the sufferings of earth for the 
enjoyments of Paradise. 

Hymn 735 beautifully expands the idea, that 
saints above and saints below, the church mili- 
tant on earth and the church triumphant in 
heaven, are all, one — one family — one army. 
Thus we are taught, while yet in the body, to 
realize the communion of saints. For a time this 
family is divided ; its members are separated 
from each other by death; this narrow stream is 



256 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

flowing between the two divisions of the army. 
But even now the intercourse is not totally sus- 
pended ; by faith we hold communion with those 
who are gone before ; we not only long for our 
re-union, and haste to see them again, but by 
faith we join hands with them, we greet them 
already : and soon faith shall be turned into 
sight; for we shall see our Captain's sign, we 
shall hear the trumpet's sound, the word of com- 
mand will be given, the waves shall be divided, 
and we shall all be landed in heaven. Had 
Charles Wesley composed nothing but these three 
incomparable hymns, he would have conferred 
a great and lasting benefit on the church of God, 
and would have immortalized his name as a 
Christian poet. 

Hymn 737 is an elegant and devotional com- 
position of that highly-gifted lady, Mrs. Agnes 
Buhner, consort and relict of Joseph Buhner, 
Esq., of London. It was written at the special 
request of James Wood, Esq., of Manchester, and 
was first sung in that town, 11th July, 1825, on 
occasion of laying the foundation-stones of the 
Wesley an chapels in Oxford-road and An coats- 
lane. Mrs. Buhner wrote many poetical pieces of 
superior value ; several of which appeared in the 
Wesleyan Magazine with the signature A. B. 
She also produced an admirable work, entitled 
" Messiah's Kingdom," which claims a very high 
rank among modern religious poems, and deserves 
to be much more extensively known than it has 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 257 

hitherto heen. This excellent and accomplished 
lady died in 1836, aged sixty-one years. 

Hymns 740, 741, 742, 743 are all intended to 
accompany the administration of infant baptism. 
They very properly assume that God will own 
that ordinance, and teach us to claim and expect 
a present blessing on behalf of those who are 
thus solemnly and conscientiously devoted to 
the service of the ever-adorable Trinity. Some 
of the expressions in Hymn 740 are indeed so 
strong, that they need a little qualification. In 
verse 3 we pray — 

" "VVhate'er thou didst for man intend, 

Whate'er thou hast on man bestow'd, 
Now to this favour'd child be given, 
Pardon and holiness and heaven." 

We cannot mean, surely, that pardon, holiness, 
and heaven in all their fulness should be at once 
communicated to the infant, unless we were 
disposed to pray for its instant death and its 
consequent admission into glory. All that we 
can properly mean is, what is expressed in the 
last two lines of the preceding verse — 

" The seed of endless life impart ; 
Take for thine own this infant's heart." 

We are authorized to believe that God will, in 
connexion with his own ordinance and in answer 
to the prayer of faith, communicate special grace 
to an infant thus publicly and solemnly dedi- 
z 2 



258 wesleyan hymnology; or a companjon 

cated to him : that he will implant that super- 
natural principle, which, being retained and 
improved and matured, will issue in pardon and 
holiness here, and heaven hereafter. And who 
will venture to assert that an infant is incapable 
of receiving some measure of the gift of the 
Holy Ghost — such a measure as is suited to its 
state and capacity — and in such a way, that if 
that infant be obedient and faithful, this heavenly 
influence, communicated in the ordinance of bap- 
tism, shall grow with its growth, and strengthen 
with its strength — shall prove a successful an- 
tagonist to the corruption and depravity of its 
nature — and shall lead it forward, at an early 
period of life, to repentance and to faith in Christ, 
and to the enjoyment of inward and experimental 
religion? We know that little children, yea infants, 
are capable of receiving the blessing of the Lord 
Jesus ; for in the days of his flesh, when some 
were brought to him, he took them up in his arms, 
put his hands upon them, and blessed them. And 
we know that infants are capable of being re- 
generated, sanctified, and saved; because thou- 
sands, dying in infancy, are infallibly saved 
through the atonement of Jesus Christ; and of 
such is the kingdom of heaven. 

" Hymn 746—" Father of mercies, in thy word."— 

This elegant and evangelical hymn (as well as 
Hymns 580, 722) is from the -pen of that pious 
and talented lady, Miss Anne Steele ; who was 



TO THE WESLEiTAN HYMN BOOK. 259 

the daughter of the Bev. William Steele, pastor 
of the Baptist church at Broughton, near Stock- 
bridge, in Hampshire. She was a member of her 
father's church forty-six years, and died in No- 
vember, 1778, in the sixty-second year of her age. 
Two volumes of her compositions, chiefly poetical, 
were published during her life, in which she 
assumed the name of Theodosia ; and a third 
volume was published after her death, by her 
Mend, Dr. Caleb Evans, of Bristol. The follow- 
ing lines, composed by one of her nieces, are 
inscribed on her tomb : — 

" Silent the lyre, and dumb the tuneful tongue, 
That sung on earth her great Redeemer's praise ; 
But now in heaven she joins the angelic song, 
In more harmonious, more exalted lays." 

Hymns 748, 749 ■, 750 are excellently adapted 
to the services, usually connected with the 
renewal of the covenant, at the commencement 
of a new year. Here we are well taught to 
acknowledge past irnfaithfulness, to humble our 
selves in the dust and ashes before God, to lay 
hold again of the gracious provisions of the 
gospel, and to bind ourselves anew to our God 
and Saviour, in bonds never to be loosened, in a 
covenant never to be forgotten. 

Hymns 752, 753, 754 are fine and spirited 
compositions, well adapted to the celebration of 
the Lord's supper. The poet teaches us to rise 
on such occasions from earth to heaven — to 






260 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

mount into the mansions of the blest — to tri- 
umph with the saints above — and tells us that, 
when admitted to the beatific vision, we shall — 

" Lose in that transporting sight 
All we felt or fear'd below : 
Torrents of unmix' d delight 
There our raptur'd souls o'erflow." 

Here indeed we have noble ideas, expressed in 
bold and striking language ; delight, and that, 
not intermixed with toils and sorrows and woes, 
but pure, unmixed, free from all alloy ; unmixed 
delight, not in small and scanty measures, not in 
inconsiderable streams or rivulets, but torrents ; 
full, abundant, inexhaustible torrents, flowing 
from the unfathomable ocean of Deity into the 
enlarged capacity of the glorified saint. What 
can exceed this ? And not only do we anticipate 
all these ecstasies of joy; by faith we already 
enter into them — 

" Now in heaven with Christ we dwell, 
Now the bliss of heaven we taste." 

Hymn 755 is an elegant and spirited prayer for 
our sovereign, and exhibits a fine specimen of 
Christian patriotism and loyalty. 

Hymns 757, 758 are excellent compositions, 
well-adapted for the purposes of morning and 
evening devotion. They are simple and elegant, 
devout and evangelical. The concluding dox- 
ology, verse 5 of Hymn 757, has been justly 
admired for the way in which it amplifies one 
great and leading idea. The burden of each 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 261 

line is, the invitation to join in praising God. 
In the first line, a good and sufficient motive to 
this duty is suggested in the consideration that 
from him all blessings flow ; in the second line, 
the duty is enforced on all creatures here beloiv, 
upon earth ; in the third line, the inhabitants of 
the heavenly world are invited to join in the 
same delightful work ; and in the last line we are 
taught that our praises are due to each distinct 
Person of the sacred Trinity. Thus one idea is 
carried forward and expanded through the whole 
stanza. 

Hymns 759, 760 are very affecting, if con- 
sidered in their intended use, as a prayer for 
dying malefactors. Mr. Charles Wesley felt much 
for that unhappy class of beings ; lie frequently 
visited them and prayed with them, and occasion- 
ally preached to them ; and in various ways he 
endeavomed to lead them to humiliation, to true 
repentance, and to faith in the only Saviour of 
sinners. For such purposes nothing can be better 
adapted than these hymns. 

Hymns 761, 762, 763, 764 are admirable hymns 
to be sung by those who are going to sea, or 
are actually traversing the mighty deep. They 
acknowledge the glorious perfections of Jehovah, 
especially as exhibited in the ocean, and teach us 
to regard this God in Christ as our ever-present 
protector, our all-sufficient Mend. Thus in the 
midst of storms and tempests, dangers and deaths, 
true believers are calm, tranquil, and happy. 



262 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY. 

Hymn 765 is fine in sentiment, as far as it goes, 
and beautiful in language ; but, like most of Ad- 
dison's compositions, very defective, as containing 
no Christianity; as having no reference what- 
ever, direct or indirect, to the only Redeemer of 
man, and as being fitted rather for a race of pure 
and innocent beings, than for the guilty and pol- 
luted descendants of fallen Adam. It forms, in 
these respects, a striking contrast to the three 
preceding hymns of Charles Wesley. 

Hymns 766, 767 are noble compositions, well 
adapted for the use of Christian assemblies, when 
meeting in the watch-night, at the solemn mid- 
night hour. The saints of the Most High are 
here taught to rejoice in their God and Saviour, 
and to triumph in the hope of meeting him in the 
skies, soaring with him to the highest heaven, 
and sharing in his glory and bliss for ever. 

Hymn 768 is an elegant paraphrase of Psalm 
cxxx. It very properly interprets and applies 
that instructive composition on evangelical prin- 
ciples, introducing the gospel-day, and redemption 
through the blood of Christ, who is truly and 
properly the Lord, our righteousness. 

Hymn 769 is excellent as a hymn of praise, 
first to each Person of the sacred Trinity dis- 
tinctly, and then to the three Divine Persons, 
united in the essence of the Godhead ; to whom 
be all honour, praise and glory for ever ! Amen. 



CHAPTER XI. 

GENERAL ADVICES AND CAUTIONS. 

That everything, however good and excellent 
in itself, is liable to abuse, and may thus become 
an occasion of evil, none will presume to deny. 
Such are the folly and depravity of our fallen 
nature, that the choicest gifts of God are by 
many perverted to their own injury and ruin. 
Hence it is deemed proper and necessary to 
subjoin some general advices relative to the 
use of the Wesley an Hymn Book, and cautions 
against some of those evils into which many 
have run. 

And, first of all, let it be remarked, that we 
should guard against a careless and indiscrimi- 
nate use of the hymns. Even if we are using 
the book in the privacy of the dwelling-house or 
of the closet, we are not to imagine that every 
hymn is adapted to every person, or that we 
may properly and advantageously employ any 
portion of the work, at all times and under all 
circumstances. As individuals, it is highly 



264 WESLEYAN HY3IX0L0GY; OR A COMPANONI 

desirable that, when we sit down to use this 
volume, we should endeavour to ascertain what 
is our true character. Are we careless, unawak- 
ened sinners ? or are we penitent and humbled 
sinners ? or are we genuine Christian believers ? 
Are we passing through scenes of affliction and 
distress ? or are we burdened with the cares and 
anxieties of 1 fe ? or are we troubled at the 
prospect of impending evils ? Are we specially 
concerned about our own individual welfare, the 
prosperity of our souls ? or are we particularly 
anxious to promote the conversion and edifi- 
cation of our beloved relatives and Mends? Do 
the interests of the chinch of Christ, or those of 
our own country, or those of the world at large — 
press heavily on our minds ? In any of these 
cases we ought to seek for appropriate hymns. 
And here we may easily find such as will be 
suitable; such as will aid us in our devotional 
exercises, and will strengthen and encourage in 
us every wise and good and holy principle. 

If we are disposed to rej oice in the Lord, and 
to take our share of those consolations which, 
belong to true Christians, we have an abundant 
supply of choice and admirable hymns in Section 
1 of Part 4, (Hymns 189 to 264,) and in Section 
5 of the Supplement, (Hymns 669 to 688.) If 
we are more disposed to enter into the depths of 
penitential feeling and Christian humility, there 
are many hymns in Part 3, (Hymns 99 to 188) 
and in Section 4 of the Supplement, (Hymns 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 265 

659 to 668,) that will meet our views. Should 
circumstances lead us to dwell on the innnitely 
solemn subjects of death, judgment, and eternity, 
nothing can be more appropriate than the 
Hymns 41 to 66 and 709 to 722. And if our 
thoughts carry us onward into the abodes of 
celestial bliss, Hymns 6T to 79 and 723 to 735 
will furnish us with ample materials. 

But while it is confessedly important that we 
should, even in our private engagements, use 
this book cautiously and judiciously, the neces- 
sity of such caution and judgment is still greater 
and more obvious in social and public worship. 
A careless and improper use of the work may, in 
one case, injure an individual ; in the other case, 
it may injure many; the evil may extend to 
scores or hundreds of persons. The writer would 
therefore recommend to every one who selects a 
hymn for public use, either in a smaller and more 
select assembly, or in a larger and more promis- 
cuous one, to enquire first whether it is suitable 
for such assembly, for the whole or for any 
considerable portion of those who are present; 
whether the language can be employed safely 
and truly and advantageously, by some or by 
many of them. In large and promiscuous com- 
panies we should for the most part confine our- 
selves to hymns of a general character ; such as 
relate to the goodness of God ; such as celebrate 
his glorious perfections and the provisions of his 
redeeming love; such as abound in praise and 
2 a 









266 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

thanksgiving, or in petitions, without entering 
deeply and minutely into religious experience. 
The peculiar excellence of many of the hymns — 
the high tone of devout sentiment which per- 
vades them — the exalted spirit of piety which 
they breathe — are in fact the very things that 
make them unfit for general and indiscriminate 
use. They are too good for such purposes ; too 
deep in meaning, too minute, and too accurate in 
describing the feelings and wants, the exercises 
and desires of genuine Christians. Hymns of 
an inferior order might be used more freely and 
with less danger. It is questionable whether we 
ought ever to give out for singing, in large and 
promiscuous congregations, such verses or lines 
as the following — 

" I thirst, I faint, I die to prove 
The greatness of redeeming love" — 

" For love I sigh, for love I pine" — 

" I hunger now, I thirst for God" — 

11 Jesus, for thee distress'd I am" — 

" My heart, thou know'st, can never rest, 
Till thou create my peace" — 

" Jesus, see my panting breast ! 
See ! I pant in thee to rest" — 

" O love ! I languish at thy stay, 
I pine for thee with lingering smart"— 

1 ' Lord ! at thy feet I fall, 
I groan to be set free"— 



TO THE WESLEYAX HYMN BOOK. 267 

" My soul breaks out in strong desire 
The perfect bliss to prove ; 
My longing heart is all on fire 
To be dissolved in love." 

Such strong and glowing language may very 
properly be employed by those for whom it is 
intended ; namely, by mourners convinced of sin, 
and earnestly seeking the salvation of God ; or 
by Christian believers, who are eagerly pursuing 
that state of entire holiness set before us in the 
volume of inspiration. But for others to adopt 
such expressions would be improper and unjustifi- 
able : for unless the language of the lips corre- 
spond with the feelings of the heart and with the 
sincere desires of the soul, it is no more than a 
solemn mockery of the Most High: and our 
services in that case will be neither acceptable to 
God, nor beneficial to ourselves. In using the 
hymn book, therefore, we should always look at 
the character of the part, front which we make 
our selection. This is invariably indicated at the 
head of the page ; so that we cannot be at a loss 
to know what may reasonably be expected in any 
particular portion of the volume, and whether 
anything is likely to be found there that will 
suit our purpose. There are, it is true, in those 
sections specially intended for mourners convinced 
of sin, or for believers seeking full redemption, 
many hymns, parts of which may be advan 
tageously employed in public worship, or in social 
parties. Only let a person be careful on such 



268 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGYj OR A COMPANION 

occasions to examine the hymn beforehand, to 
select such verses as are well adapted for general 
purposes, and to omit others. Thus of the 
Hymns in Part 3, (from 99 to 188,) many may, 
with a little care and caution, be adapted partially, 
if not wholly, to general use; as being descriptive 
of that experience which all true Christians have 
already realized in a greater or less degree, and 
which must be realized by all who wish to enter 
finally into the mansions of heavenly glory. A 
few words of explanation and of admonition, 
occasionally dropped by him who takes the lead 
in devotional exercises, might suffice to prevent 
misapprehension and abuse, and to secure the 
most profitable employment of the hymns. 

Christian believers certainly cannot adopt as 
their own language, such verses as the following : 

" Guilty I stand before thy face, 
On me I feel thy wrath abide" — 

" Out of the deep I cry, 
Just at the point to die, 
Hastening to infernal pain" — 

" A sinner weltering in his blood, 
Unpurged and unforgiven ; 
Far distant from the living God, 
As far as hell from heaven." 

" Shut up in unbelief, I groan." 

If therefore such verses be used at all by be- 
lievers, it should be with the full and distinct 
recollection, that the language describes a state 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 269 

of guilt and wretchedness, from which they have 
happily been rescued; but that there still are 
those to whom such language is most appropri- 
ate ; whose case we ought to remember, and for 
whose speedy deliverance we ought to pray. 
That fine and instinctive composition, Hymn 
127, might all be employed without scruple, if 
verse 7 were omitted. Hymn 137 might be so 
used, if verses 4 and 8 were excepted. In Hymn 
1 44, it would be advisable to omit verse 2 ; in 
Hymn 155, verses 5, 6; and in Hymn 147, if 
verses 1 and 3 be employed at all, it should be 
done advisedly and sparingly. The same remark 
may be applied to that exquisitely-beautiful piece, 
Hymns 140, 141 : in using which peculiar pare 
and caution are necessaiy. 

In the section for believers rejoicing, there are 
many hymns or parts of hymns, which express so 
strongly and fully the state and experience of 
those who have found redemption in the blood 
of Christ, the forgiveness of all their sins, that 
no other persons can properly employ them. Yet 
even in these, there are frequently some parts of 
a more general character, which may be used in 
promiscuous assemblies. Verse 3 of Hymn 189 ; 
verses 1, 2 of Hymn 190; verses 1, 2, 3 of Hymn 
197; verses 4, 5 of Hymn 201; verses 4, 5 of 
Hymn 202; verse 5 of Hymn 216; verse 2 of 
Hymn 217 ; and the whole of Hymns 191, 205, 
206, 209, 213, 228, 246 are such, that none but 
true disciples of the Lord Jesus, happy in the 
:2 a 2 






270 wesleyan hymnology; or a companion 

pardoning love of God, can with any propriety 
adopt them. If they who have not yet been put 
in possession of the pearl of great price, venture 
to use such language at all, it must he in the 
way of petition and supplication, with earnest 
desires that God may speedily introduce them 
into this blessed state. 

Another caution is, that we should never rest 
in the mere letter of the hymn, but should labour 
to enter fully into its spirit, so as to make it truly 
and properly our own. The mere letter of these 
compositions may indeed serve to enlighten the 
understanding, to correct the errors of our 
judgment, and to lead us to accurate views of 
religious subjects. But of what avail will it be 
to have the understanding enlightened, if the 
heart be not affected? What will it profit us, 
to be ever so well acquainted with the theory 
of religion, if there be not its experience in our 
hearts and its practice in our lives ? The hymn 
book should be regarded and used as an impor- 
tant auxiliary in the pursuit of experimental and 
practical piety. As a substitute for personal 
religion, neither this nor anything else will avail. 
But if we are favoured with these valuable helps, 
and yet derive no ultimate benefit from them, 
they will tend to increase our guilt, and to bring 
down upon us in the end more awful punishment. 
The use of this book cannot fail to give us more 
correct views of religious subjects; it being scarcely 
possible to imagine that one who reads such 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 271 

hynms with even a moderate share of attention, 
should be ignorant of any of the great and leading 
doctrines of Holy Scripture. So that if we are 
not made wiser and better by means of this 
volume, there is reason to fear that our case will 
be like that of the servant, who knew his master's 
will, but prepared not himself, neither did accord- 
ing to his will, and who shall therefore be beaten 
with many stripes. 

These hymns, in their proper and legitimate 
use, are calculated not only to lead us into the 
actual possession of personal piety, but to encou- 
rage and stimulate us to the diligent and faithful 
discharge of all domestic and relative duties. 
If husbands and wives, parents and children, 
masters or mistresses and servants, sovereigns 
and subjects, were to avail themselves of this 
manual, and to regulate their lives agreeably to 
the model therein presented, most happy would 
be the results. Such conduct would make every 
house the abode of peace and harmony and love ; 
would unite all the members of each family in the 
bonds of affection ; and would make them solicit- 
ous to promote each other's temporal, spiritual, 
and eternal welfare. It would bind together the 
various orders and classes of human society in the 
bonds of Christian benevolence. It would teach 
the wealthy to be kind, generous, ready to dis- 
tribute, prompt to relieve the necessities and to 
mitigate the sufferings of their fellow-creatures : 
while the poor would be instructed to be patient, 



272 WESLEl'AN HYMNOLOGY ; OR A COMPANION 

gentle, contented with their lot. and happy in the 
prospect of exaltation in the world to come. By 
this volume masters would he taught t ■: 
and kind in all then dealings with their servants ; 
while servants would he led to act faithfully and 
conscientiously in all the duties they owe to their 
masters. Parents would he induced to train up 
their children in the good and right way. seeking 
above all things to secure for them the favour and 
blessing of God; and children would learn to 
requite the kindness and care of then parents 
with filial reverence and affection. Here also 
rulers and sovereigns might be taught to humble 
themselves before him who is the universal King, 
and to use then power only for the benefit of 
those who are beneath then sway; while subjects 
would le am the necessity of submission to just 
authority, and of obedience to the laws of the 
realm. In short, as the whole of the Hymn 
Book is designed to recommend pine, genuine, 
and primitive Christianity in all its healings, it 
would tend to produce happy individuals, happy 
famihes, happy nations, and in the end a happy 
world. This will undoubtedly be the case, when 
God's gracious designs shall be accomplished, and 
when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, even as the waters cover the sea. 

And as these hymns are rei for the 

just and scriptural views which they exhibit of 
the privileges of Christie -is. if we are 

only faithful in acting and living in a wav eon- 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK. 273 

sistent with those views, our growth in grace 
will be proportion ably more rapid, and our actual 
experience will correspond with our avowed sen- 
timents. Thus, through the divine blessing and 
by the gracious agency of the Holy Spirit, we 
shall be led forward to realize the highest attain- 
ments in wisdom and holiness; thus shall we 
prove the utmost efficacy of the blood of Christ, 
in cleansing us from all inward pollution, and the 
full power of the Holy Spirit in sanctifying our 
whole nature. 

Let all, therefore, who avail themselves of this 
poetical treasure, be careful so to use it, that it 
may tend to increase and confirm in them every 
thing that is wise and holy, useful and excellent. 
Let us endeavour to catch a measure of that holy 
ardour which glowed in the bosoms of those 
apostolic men, to whom we are principally in 
deb ted for these hymns. Let us emulate their 
deep piety, their fervent zeal, then disinterested 
labours to do good both to the bodies and the 
souls of their fellow-creatures, their efforts to 
extend the Redeemer's kingdom through all parts 
of our own country, and through every country 
on the face of the whole earth. Let us always 
take care to connect the use of these hymns with 
the daily perusal of the Holy Scriptures, with 
regular attendance on the public worship of God, 
with private prayer, with family devotion, and 
with all the exercises and fruits of practical 
godliness. 



274 WESLEYAN HYMNOLOGY J OB A COMPANION 

Thus, not as substitutes for personal piety, but 
as aids to its attainment, its growth, audits matu- 
rity, will these compositions answer a most valu- 
able purpose; and will assist in preparing us for 
the more exalted employments and pleasures of 
the heavenly state. While we are journeying 
through the wilderness of this world, we shall be 
solaced by these songs of Zion ; the burdens of 
life will be lightened; we shall be strengthened 
to press forward through afflictions, discourage- 
ments, and difficulties ; and when we have to pass 
through the valley of the shadow of death and to 
contend with our last enemy, we shall be pre- 
pared for those infinitely solemn and important 
events. We shall then triumph in the prospect 
of dissolution ; and passing into eternity, we shall 
exchange our earthly songs of prayer and praise 
for the nobler anthems of Paradise, where all will 
be adoration and glory and bliss, holy joy and 
heavenly exultation, for ever and ever. The song 
of the redeemed begins on earth, but is carried on 
in heaven; it begins in time, but is extended 
through the ages of eternity. In that blissful 
world we shall behold that Redeemer whose 
praises we delight to celebrate on earth, and shall 
unite our grateful and adoring accents with those 
of the innumerable company of angels, and of the 
general assembly and church of the first-born, 
the saints of the Most High, who have washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb. 



TO THE WESLEYAN HYMN BOOK, 275 

May every reader of these pages secure these 
inestimable privileges; and having experienced 
the joys of holiness here below, may they all be 
numbered finally among the inhabitants of the 
heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, and all unite 
in singing the never-ending song of praise and 
gratitude and thanksgiving and love to Him that 
sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb, for ever 
and ever ! Amen. 



APPENDIX. 



The Reviewer Reviewed, and Wesleyan Hymnology 
Vindicated ; or, Remarks on an Article inserted 
in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine for July, 
1845. 

Whoevek publishes a book and sends it forth 
into the world with his name attached to it, is justly 
held responsible for all the sentiments that it con- 
tains. That which is thus sent abroad becomes 
public property; and an invitation is hereby given 
to all persons to read for themselves, to examine 
whatever is advanced, to censure everything that 
is defective or inaccurate or objectionable, and to 
commend all that is truly good and excellent. 
Such examinations, however, should always be 
conducted with kindness and candour ; no man 
should be absolutely condemned for a few failings 
or blemishes; and never should the character and 
2 B 



APPENDIX. 

ire volume be judged of m^ 

through- 
out t:-T w rk Every work should I 

1 :- : nd ::~ :-i: 
from that which institutes the largest portion of 
its matter, andwl -:ands out most prominently 
:: the t~~t :: the j1 server 

That the editor of the Wesleyan Magazine 
should view vrith more than usual interest every- 
thing that somes within the range of Wesleyan 
literature, is very natural and very proper. Should 
he discovei in mythmg that is issued by a mem- 
" Bi :: his own church sentimei its at variance with 
those which are avowedly maintained by that 
which : 3 to be found in its recog- 
nized and official _ lards, it is unquestionably 
propei that ~_e should point out such sentiments, 
sh w their e :i:nable character, and guard the 
public against them. Whatever charity we owe 
t : : or brethren in Christ, we : we no charity at all 
: their errors; especially to errors that affect 
i xmdamental points in Christian theology or in 
religious experience. B .: among those who are 
perfectly agreed in these matters, and against 
whom no charge of change of sentiment has been 
;r Ban he brought, there may. on various minor 
subjects, be lifferences of opinion; and within 
:-ertain iiini~s every :ne m-.T — .:- > ;.■_ :". inn:cen:ly 
maintain his own views, while he leaves Ids 
i-re:;iren :: niiin:r.in tlieirs. Tnv^ there mav be 

: tial unity together with circumstantial a- 



APPENDIX. 279 

riety ; unity in all fundamental matters ; variety 
in those which are subordinate and non-essential. 

TheWesleyan Magazine for July, 1845, con- 
tains an article entitled " Wesley an Hynmology," 
and bearing no name or signature, excepting 
Aleph. Who the anonymous writer is, it is un- 
necessary to enquire ; as the editor of the Maga- 
zine has given the article his public and official 
sanction. It seems, however, somewhat singu- 
lar that a review should be introduced in such 
a way, without previously giving the title of the 
work, or the name of the author. Why are the 
names of the author and of the publisher so 
studiously concealed ? Why is not the book in- 
troduced to the notice of those who read the 
Magazine in a bold, open, and honomable way ? 
either in an avowed review, as a separate article, 
or in the Select List, with a characteristic notice 
appended? 

To several parts of that review I certainly ob- 
ject; the principles appear to me untenable, and 
the arguments inconclusive. It is proper to re- 
mind all who shall peruse these remarks, that the 
points to which I refer do not touch any theologi- 
cal doctrines, or anything connected with Chris- 
tian experience ; but that they are, entirely and 
exclusively, questions of criticism and literature ; 
or matters of opinion, as to the tendency of the 
book that I have published. On all these and 
similar subjects, I am perfectly ready to allow 
that I may be wrong, and they who differ from 



280 



APPENDIX. 



me, right ; at the sarue time I claim full liberty to 
believe that opinions sanctioned by the editor of 
the Wesleyan Magazine may be wrong, and the 
contrary opinions, right. 

The reviewer thinks that I have taken too great 
a liberty with ;{ a volume bearing such a sanction 
as that which is implied in the authority of Mr. 
Wesley, and in the perpetuated imprimatur of the 
Conference." Does he suppose, then, that the 
writings of Mr. Wesley and the official publica- 
tions of the Conference are to be placed on a 
level with the volume of inspiration? Does he 
imagine that an absolute, un qualified, and uni- 
versal approbation can be claimed for any unin- 
spired compositions whatever? There are no 
uninspired compositions that I reverence or 
value more highly than those of John Wesley; 
but between them and the book of inspiration, I 
always draw a deep and broad line of distinction ; 
and not even the authority of Wesley would in- 
duce me knowingly to admit or to retain one sen- 
timent at variance with the teachings of God's 
own book. No enlightened Wesleyan. surely, 
would for a moment think o^ putting the writings 
of Wesley on a level with Holy Scripture. 

Nor yet do I regard our standard publications 
with that superstitious reverence and undiscern- 
ing admiration, with which some episcopalians 
regard their book of common-prayer. To hint 
that there are any faults in the national liturgy, 
or to propose that it should in any respect be 



APPENDIX. 281 

modified, corrected, or improved, is, in their 
judgment, profane, if not almost "blasphemous. 
Few, I should hope, entertain such sentiments in 
reference to Mr. Wesley's publications. I regard 
them with high admiration and with profound 
respect, as the productions of one of the greatest 
and best men of modern times ; on all points 
affecting Christian doctrine and religious expe- 
rience, I frilly and conscientiously agree with Mr. 
"Wesley; but still I regard his wiitings as not in- 
spired, not infallible, and consequently as marked 
by occasional blemishes and errors. 

When I point out what I believe to be gram- 
matical inaccuracies, my object is not to condemn, 
but to excuse, Mr. Wesley. If well-educated per- 
sons notice those modes of expression to which I 
object, they might possibly suppose, either that 
Mr. Wesley was ignorant of the rules of English 
grammar, or that he knowingly and purposely 
violated them. Now my remarks solve this pro- 
blem, without injuring his literary reputation; 
for I say that in his day such expressions were 
scarcely known or allowed to be inaccurate, and 
that similar errors are found in the best writers of 
that day. If Aleph be disposed to vindicate 
such expressions, he is quite at liberty so to 
do ; and I am equally at liberty to dissent from 
him. I believe I shall have, if not absolutely all, 
yet, at least, the vast majority of correct speakers 
and writers on my side. He accuses me of con- 
ravening the authority of the great grammarian 
2 b 2 






282 APPENDIX. 

and lexicographer ; but will he venture to assert 
that the niceties and peculiarities of our language 
were as well understood by Dr. Samuel Johnson, 
as they are by well-instructed persons of the 
present day? To say that many in this day un- 
derstand English grammar better than Dr. Johnson 
did, is not the least reflection on that great man ; 
any more than it is a reflection on him to say that 
he flourished in 1780, and not in 1846. Besides, is 
not the authority of our great lexicographer contra- 
vened by much of the spelling now universally 
adopted ? Will the editor of the Wesley an Magazine 
defer, in all literary matters, to the authority of 
Dr. Johnson ? If so, let him never presume to write 
governor, emperor, error, without the u, but inva- 
riably governour, emperour, errour. Let him 
never write public, critic, music, catholic, arith- 
metic, without the k ; let it be invariably publick, 
critick, musick, catholick, arithnietick. Does not 
every one see that in such matters the authority 
of Dr. Johnson is absolutely set aside by custom, 
and by the changes to which all living languages 
are subject ? 

* The reviewer may endeavour to justify such an 
expression as 

-rocks, hills, and seas 



And heaven's high palace rings" 



by talking about a distributive periphrasis for the 
earthly and heavenly universe ; but on such prin- 
ciples any deviation from the established laws of 



APPENDIX. 283 

English grammar might be justified ; and then 
the first rule of our syntax might be thus laid 
down — It is not necessary that a verb should agree 
with its nominative case in number and person. 

The reviewer thinks that " devotional composi- 
tions, " once admitted into regular and settled use/' 
should be " exempted from any such exhibition of 
their poetical or literary merits or defects, as 
would be likely to divide the attention of the 
worshipper in the use of any particular hymn 
between the sentiment of the hymn and the form 
in which it is expressed." He would allow criti- 
cisms, jDro vided they be "purely general" but 
objects to everything relating to particular hymns 
or passages. He censures me for condemning 
certain expressions as inaccurate and ungramma- 
tical, and says that I come to this conclusion only 
by applying " ex post facto laws and usages of com- 
position," to which laws "" the writers of that day 
owed no submission." Now as to this law, which 
allows general remarks, but prohibits all reference 
to particular hymns or passages, I enquire — When 
was such law made ? By whose authority ? 
Where is it promulgated? It appears, for the 
first time, in the Wesleyan Magazine for July, 
1845 ; four months, at least, after the publication 
of the volume entitled " Wesleyan Hymnology." 
It is (to use the reviewer's own language) an " ex 
post facto law " — a law made for the purpose of 
condemning that volume, and of preventing its 
sale. It is a law which the editor of the Magazine 



284 APPENDIX. 

is at liberty to observe, and by which he is at 
liberty to judge of all communications submitted 
to his inspection; but it is a law to which I "owe 
no submission." 

If, because certain compositions are used for 
devotional purposes, they are to be exempted from 
all criticism pointing out particularly then "poet- 
ical or literary character," how can we vindicate 
the commentaries that have been published by 
learned and pious men on the Psalms, and, indeed, 
on the Scriptures generally? If the argument 
prove anything, it proves too much. If it be a 
valid and conclusive argument, then it is wrong 
to read or encourage any publications that enter 
minutely into the characteristics and peculiarities 
of any portion of the Bible. That there are no 
faults or blemishes in Holy Scrip tine, we are all 
fully agreed ; but no one surely will deny that the 
Bible has a literary character, and that in many 
parts of it there are poetical and literary beauties. 
Now the Psalms, the Proverbs, the prophecies, 
and other portions of the Old Testament, and the 
whole of the New Testament, are admitted into 
regular and settled use for devotional purposes and 
for public worship. Hence, to use the language 
of the reviewer, merely substituting the word 
psalm, or chapter, for hymn, it will be imposed 
" as a law, that for the sake of those who use 
them, and on account of the peculiar purpose to 
which they are applied, they shall be exempted 
from any such exhibition of their poetical or 



APPENDIX. 285 

literary merits as would be likely to divide the 
attention of the worshipper in the "use of any 
particular (psalrn or chapter) between the senti- 
ment of the (psalm or chapter) and the form in 
which it is expressed." * * * " But let the poetical 
and literary beauties of a (psalm or chapter) be 
made prominent to his attention by critical re- 
marks on the entire (psalm or chapter,) or on 
particular expressions contained in it, and unless 
the criticism has been comparatively unnoticed, 
or be wholly forgotten at the time, the mind is 
unquestionably liable to the very serious disad- 
vantage of being diverted from the spirit of 
devotion to its form" &c. If these views be cor- 
rect, then how can the Wesleyans be justified in 
sending abroad, all over the world, the comments 
of Wesley and Coke and Benson and Clarke and 
Watson ? All these comments treat more or less 
of the literary character and the poetical beauties 
of Holy Scripture, and are all, therefore, instru- 
mental in extending and perpetuating the evil of 
which the reviewer is apprehensive. On these 
principles what becomes of the whole science of 
sacred criticism ? And how can any minister be 
justified in examining most carefully every word 
and every letter of that which bears on it the 
marks of divine inspiration — of that which is 
God's own direct gift to man ? The minister 
must not study Scripture critically, lest his atten- 
tion should be divided between the sentiment and 
the form in which it is expressed! But is it not, 



286 APPENDIX. 

in many instances, difficult or impossible to ascer- 
tain truly and accurately what the sentiment is, 
without a careful and critical examination of the 
form which contains it ? Has not the want of 
close attention to the form often led to great mis- 
apprehension and error as to the sentiment? And 
if to say anything in the way of finding fault he 
" still more seriously objectionable, " what can be 
said of Mr. Wesley's recorded opinion of many 
of the Psalms, published to all the world in 1784? 

In his abridged edition of the Common Prayer 
he says — 

" Some sentences in the offices of Baptism and 
for the Burial of the Dead are omitted; and 

" Many of the Psalms left out, and many parts 
of the others, as being highly improper for the 
mouths of a Christian congregation." 

Here Mr. Wesley takes the liberty of selecting, 
rejecting, and retaining, not only in reference to 
the uninspired portions of the book of Common 
Prayer, but also in reference to the Psalms, all of 
which are allowed to be divinely inspired. In 
commenting on uninspired productions, I have 
nowhere used stronger language than that which 
is here employed by Mr. Wesley himself in refer- 
ence to certain portions of the volume of inspira- 
tion. And if there be any foundation for the 
opinion that my remarks in the Hymnology are 
accessory to mischief, and will damage, instead 
of promoting, my main object, there is just as 
much reason to believe that Mr. Wesley's preface 



"appendix. 287 

to the "Sunday Service" will lead people to un- 
dervalue and neglect the hook of Psalms. 

The reviewer appears to have overlooked or 
forgotten the fact, that there are two distinct ways 
in which Holy Scrip tine, or any devotional works, 
may he used. They may he examined minutely 
and critically ; and such examination I deem 
incumhent, at least, on all ministers, and all whose 
circumstances and anilities are favourable to such 
studies. They may he used merely and simply 
for purposes of devotion and edification ; and on 
such occasions, the critic, the man of nice taste, 
and of keen, discriminating powers, becomes as 
simple and as humble as his most unlettered 
fellow-worshipper. He feels that, when engaging 
in any devotional exercise, he needs, as much as 
any one, divine guidance and succour. He forgets, 
or lays aside for the time, all critical and literary 
views of Scripture and of hymns, and feels, as 
much as any one, that he is a mere learner in the 
school of Christ, and a suppliant at the throne of 
grace. 

That Mr. Wesley did not wish to prohibit, or 
to condemn a critical examination of particular 
hymns or p passages may be inferred from the fact, 
that he has in his sermons furnished a specimen 
of criticism on certain strong, bold, or objection- 
able expressions. In his sermon on knowing 
Christ after the flesh, (Sermon 117) he says — 
"Can we affirm that the hymns published by a 
late great man (whose memory I love and esteem) 






288 APPENDIX. 

are free from this fault? Are they not full of 
expressions which strongly savour of knowing 
Christ after the flesh ? yea, and in a more gross 
manner than anything which was ever before 
published in the English tongue ? What pity is 
it that those coarse expressions should appear in 
many truly spiritual hymns ! How often in the 
midst of excellent verses are lines inserted which 
disgrace those* that precede and follow ! * * * 
I have sometimes almost scrupled singing (even 
in the midst of my brother's excellent hymn) that 
deal" disfigured face, or that glowing expression — 
Drop thy warm blood upon my heart — lest it 
should seem to imply the forgetting I am speak- 
ing of the Man that is my Fellow, saith the Lord 
of hosts" 

What will the reviewer say to this ? Here, in 
Mr. Wesley's own language, we have references 
to particular hymns and jjassages, and references 
in which faults and blemishes are pointed out. In 
condemning me, therefore, he is condemning Mr. 
Wesley. 

The Rev. Richard Watson also, in his Life of 
Wesley, among his remarks on the hymns, says — 

" Cowper's fine hymn on Providence is greatly 
improved by omitting the stanza — 

' His purposes will ripen fast, 
Unfolding every hour ; 
The bud may have a hitter taste, 
But sweet will he the flower.' 

This is a figure not only not found in sacred, 



APPENDIX. 289 

inspired poetry, but which has too much prettiness 
to be the vehicle of a sublime thought; and the 
verse has, moreover, the fault of an absurd anti- 
thesis, as well as a false rhyme." 

In the Hymnology I have merely followed the 
example thus set by Mr. Wesley and Mr, Watson. 
What they have done on a small scale, I have 
done on a larger one. He who vindicates them 
cannot, injustice, condemn me. 

Aleph says that the objection which I bring 
against the couplet — 

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 
Is ready, with their shining host — 

" is sufficiently answered and refuted by the fact 
that the construction in this couplet is simply an 
imitation of the construction purposely used to 
indicate an important Scriptural doctrine, both in 
the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the corresponding 
English version." He then refers to the following 
passages: — Genesis i. 26; xi. 6, 7; iii. 22; and 
Joshua xxiv. 19. Now I am fully aware of the 
peculiar phraseology adojDted in Holy Scripture 
in reference to the sacred Trinity ; and especially 
that we generally have the plural Hebrew noun 
Elohim connected with singular verbs, pronouns, 
and adjectives ; though sometimes plural verbs, 
pronouns, or adjectives are used with it. As our 
English adjectives are not varied on account of 
number, Aleph is not, I think, correct in saying 
that " we have a singular verb and a plural pro- 
noun, or a plural adjective, used both in the 
2 c 



290 



APPENDIX. 



Hebrew and the English, in exactly the same 
manner." In the original of Joshua xxiv. 19 — 
He is a holy God, the noun God and the adjective 
holy are both plural ; but Aleph, surely, will not 
say that either the noun or the adjective is plural 
in our English version. This, however, is a matter 
of little importance; but nothing that the re- 
viewer has said, touches the precise point to which 
I refer. My words are — " The use of a singular 
verb after two or three of the Persons of the God- 
head is not sanctioned by the phraseology of Scrip- 
ture"-— and I then give five instances of plural 
verbs employed under such circumstances. As our 
principal guide in all such enquiries must be the 
New Testament, it would, perhaps, have been 
better had I said, " the phraseology of the New 
Testament," rather than " the phraseology of 
Scripture." Can the reviewer produce a single 
instance from the New Testament in which two 
or three of the Divine Persons are distinctly men- 
tioned as the nominative case to a singular verb ? 
If he can, I will at once give up the point, and 
acknowledge that I am wrong. On a subject so 
sacrea I will waive all reference to grammatical 
rule, and will bow with the most ready submission 
to the authority of the inspired writers of the 
New Testament. That the Divine Persons are 
sometimes considered in their distinct characters 
as three, and at other times in their undivided 
essence as one, we are all agreed. But when a 
singular verb is, in the Hebrew, connected with a 



APPENDIX, 291 

plural nominative, the idea of plurality is not 
diffused, so to speak, through two or three words, 
but is concentrated in one ; so that the use of one 
single word, Elohim. though unquestionably a 
plural noun, conveys the idea of unity as well 
as of plurality, or of three combined in one In 
the passages quoted from Genesis and Joshua, 
there is not one in which two or three Divine 
Persons are enumerated, and then a singula: verb 
employed in reference to them. The only passage 
in the Old Testament, as far as I can recollect, 
that even seems to contradict my assertion, is 
Isa. xlviii. 16, where we read, " and now the Lord 
God and his Spirit hath sent me." Here it appears 
we have the Lord God, and his Spirit, two Divine 
Persons, followed by the singular verb hath sent. 
But even supposing this to be the true sense of 
the passage, let it be observed, that the order of 
the words in the original Hebrew is, " and now 
the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, aud his Spirit," 
that is, the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his 
Spirit (hath sent me); the verb with the pronom- 
inal affix being expressed in the first clause, and 
understood in the second. So that here, in the 
original, the singular verb is not preceded by two 
of the Divine Persons, but only by one. But 
there are serious grounds of objection to the 
common rendering of this clause. The whole 
chapter is the language of the Messiah, addressed 
to his called and chosen people, Jacob or Israel. 
He is expressly called the Redeemer, verse 17; 



292 APPENDIX. 

and in verse 12 he uses this remarkable expres- 
sion, I am the first, I also am the last, exactly 
corresponding with what the Lord Jesus Christ 
said to the apostle John in the isle of Patmos, 
/ am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last — 
I am the first and the last. Eev. i. 11, 17. Now 
if the common version of Isaiah xlviii. 16 be 
correct, the Messiah says, "the Lord God, and 
his Spirit, hath sent me," that is, the Lord God 
and the Spirit of God have sent the Messiah. But 
the idea that the Messiah is sent by the Spirit of 
God is quite unsupported by other parts of Scrip- 
ture, and is inconsistent with the doctrine of the 
New Testament; which is, that the Holy Spirit 
is sent by the Father, and by the Son ; that the 
Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from 
the Son ; for the Lord Jesus breathed on his 
disciples, and then they received the Holy Ghost. 
Hence it is the opinion of the most competent 
judges, that the true sense of that clause is, " now 
the Lord God hath sent me and his Spirit," that 
is, the Lord God hath sent the Messiah, and hath 
sent the Holy Spirit. The idea that the Messiah 
and the Holy Spirit are both sent by the Lord 
God, that is, by God the Father, is perfectly in 
accordance with the general doctrine of Scripture ; 
and this interpretation is adopted by Bishop 
Lowth, by Dr. Adam Clarke, by Dr. John Pye 
Smith, and by the Eev. Eichard Watson. Thus 
my assertion relative to the phraseology of Scrip- 
ture on this point remains unshaken. 



APPENDIX. 293 

That my views on this subject are correct may 
also be argued from the language employed in 
Hymn 261 ; where the three Persons of the God- 
head are distinctly mentioned, and yet the unity 
of the Godhead is made prominent. When the 
three Divine Persons are addressed in their com- 
bined and indivisible character, the singular 
pronoun thou is very properly employed ; as also 
inverse 5 of Hymn 532; but with equal propriety 
does the poet say, in verse 3 — 

" Sure as the saints around thy throne, 
That Father, Word, and Spirit are one." 

Not — That Father, Word, and Spirit is one. 

Let the fifth verse of Hymn 9 be made to cor- 
respond with the third verse of Hymn 261. 

On this point I have the pleasure of presenting 
to my readers the testimonies of three excellent 
clergymen of the Church, of England; men whose 
names are known in the religious and the literary 
world, and whose learning, talents, and piety 
make their judgment on the case very valuable. 
The criticism on verse 5 of Hymn 9, a*nd all the 
objections brought against it by Aleph, were sub- 
mitted to their consideration; and they were 
requested to give their opinion freely and candidly. 
With this request each of tnem complied in a very 
polite and friendly way, and n a truly Christian 
spirit. 

Extract of a letter, addressed to the Eev. W. P. 
Burgess, from the Eev. Thomas Jarrett, A.M., 
2 c 2 



294 APPENDIX. 

Bector of Trunck, Norfolk, and Eegius Professor 
of Arabic in tke University of Cambridge. 

"I cannot imagine on wkat ground any one 
can defend so palpable a grammatical error as 
tkat wkick you quote in your letter ; nor do I 
tliink any arguments are needed to confirm tke 
simple statement you kave made. Tkose wko 
are not convinced by wkat you kave said, would 
be equally unconvinced by references to Scrip- 
tural passages, containing analogous pkraseology. 
Allow me to suggest to you, tkat you kave said 
enougk on tke point; all reasonable persons must 
agree witk you in tkis matter, and to otkers your 
reasoning will be of no effect." 

Extract of a letter addressed to tke Eev. W. P. 
Burgess, from tke Eev. Tkomas Byrtk, D.D., 
Bector of Wallasey, near Liverpool. 

" I kave no kesitation in giving my opinion 
tkat your criticism is just, and tke censure, con- 
sequently, undeserved. Tke arguments by wkick 
you support your view are, in my judgment, incon- 
trovertible ; and I am astonisked tkat any intel- 
ligent writer skould, in tke present day, attempt 
to vindicate suck a solecism, not only in tke 
grammatical, but in tke tkeological sense, as tkat 
committed, I cannot but tkink inadvertently, in 
tke Hymn Book. 

" You say tkat ' tke differences between you 
and Alepk are entirely critical and literary, and 
not at all affecting tkeological doctrines.' Here 
I differ from you; for to me it appears, tkat if 



APPENDIX. 295 

his notion be held, the ' Persons' in the Trinity 
are ' confounded,' and the ' great mystery of god- 
liness,' is resolved into a mere form of speech. 

" You are welcome to make whatever use you 
please of this communication." 

Extract of a letter addressed to the Bev. W. P. 
Burgess, from the Eev. J. E. Riddle, A.M., In- 
cumbent of St. Philip's Church, near Cheltenham, 
and author of " A Manual of Christian Antiqui- 
ties," " Ecclesiastical Chronology ; or, Annals of 
the Christian Church," "A Latin and English 
Dictionary," &c. &c. 

" It is impossible for me not to concur most 
entirely both in your first remarks upon the 
couplet in question, and in your vindication of 
those remarks. The instances to which your 
reviewer points, are not at all to the purpose. 
My eye fell upon the couplet, before I was at all 
aware of the controversy respecting it; and it 
immediately struck me as harsh and unusual. I 
think the best way to amend the lines would be 
to write — 

• God— Father, Son, and Holy Ghost- 
Is ready with his shining host.' 

"You have clearly so full an insight into the 
subject, in all its bearings, critical and theological, 
that I need not say a word more than to wish 
you every success and blessing in your labours." 

Here then, in opposition to the judgment of 
the anonvmous writer, who assumes the signature 



296 APPENDIX. 

of Aleph, we have that of three independent wit- 
nesses, of whose competency and impartiality no 
doubt can be entertained. 

The reviewer expresses a " still more serious 
demur" to a paragraph in the Preface to the 
Hymnology ; in which I have said — " There are 
many passages which require to be qualified and 
guarded ; many expressions which, if not so 
qualified and guarded, may be grossly misunder- 
stood and may lead to highly pernicious sentiments. 
Truth and error sometimes lie in close contiguity; 
and if that which is substantially correct and true 
be expressed in the strong and glowing language 
of poetry — such poetry especially as that of Charles 
Wesley — it may bear a very great resemblance to 
that which is inaccurate and false." This Aleph 
terms a broad and sweeping statement; and he 
thinks, that in making it, I have placed the 
original compiler of the Hymn Booh and the 
Conference in a very critical position; and that it 
may become a question, whether hymns and pas- 
sages of hymns, so fraught with danger, ought not 
forthwith to be greatly amended or entirely ex- 
punged. It does not appear to me that there is 
any ground for all this alarm. I do not anywhere 
intimate, that the hymns are fraught with danger. 
All that I say is, " many expressions may be 
grossly misunderstood, and may lead to highly 
pernicious sentiments, and that what is substan- 
tially correct and true may bear a very great 
resemblance to that which is inaccurate and false." 






APPENDIX. 297 

Let the reader mark the important distinction. 
I do not say, that these things must necessarily 
be so, or that they icill certainly be so ; but 
simply and merely that they may be so. What 
is this more than saying, that good things are 
liable to abuse; and that if any means can be 
adoj)ted to prevent such abuse, it is desirable that 
they should be adopted ? Nor do I apprehend, 
that I have placed Mr. "Wesley and the Conference 
in a very critical joosition. Mr. Wesley published, 
and the Conference through its agents continues 
to sell, a book of which I speak in terms of high 
commendation, as being in many respects pecu- 
liarly excellent, as containing many hymns that 
are above all praise, and that are eminent beyond 
all others ; but of which I also speak as haying a 
few blemishes and errors, and as containing pas- 
sages which may be misunderstood, which may 
resemble that which is inaccurate and false, which 
may lead to pernicious sentiments, and which 
should therefore be qualified and guarded. With 
the exception of blemislies and errors, may not all 
that I have said be affirmed even of Holy Scrip- 
tine? Has not God's own word often been mis- 
understood? Do not some scriptural truths bear 
a considerable resemblance to unsciiptural error? 
Have not very pernicious sentiments been grafted 
on misapprehended and misapplied passages of 
Holy Writ? Is it not an important duty of 
Christian ministers to guard then flocks against 
a false interpretation of Scripture — to show them 



298 APPENDIX. 

what certain passages do not mean, and to draw 
out and establish their trne and real import? To 
say nothing of Socinian and Popish tenets, have 
not the errors of Calvinism and Antinomianism 
on the one hand, and those of Pharisaism and Pela- 
gianism on the other hand, all been supported 
by false interpretations and false applications of 
Scripture ? 

Is Aleph alarmed, because I say that truth and 
error sometimes lie in close contiguity? Then let 
him listen to Mr. Wesley's own words. 

" Does not the truth of the gospel he very near 
both to Calvinism and Antinomianism ? 

"Indeed it does; as it were within a hair's 
breadth ; so that it is altogether foolish and sinful, 
because we do not quite agree either with one or 
the other, to run from them as far as ever we can. 

" Wherein may we come to the very edge of 
Calvinism? 

" In ascribing all good to the free grace of 
God— 

" In denying all natural free-will, and all power 
antecedent to grace — and 

" In excluding all merit from man, even for 
what he has or does by the grace of God. 

" Wherein may we come to the edge of Antino- 
mianism? 

" In exalting the merits and love of Christ — 

" In rejoicing evermore." — Wesley s Works, 
L2mo. vol. viii. p. 274. 

" The true gospel touches the very edge both of 



APPENDIX. <:liy 

Calvinism and Antinoinianism; so that nothing 
but the mighty power of God can prevent our 
sliding either into the one or the other." — Wesley s 
Works, vol. xii. p. 259. 

" I am in doubt whether there be any soul clothed 
with flesh and blood, which enjoys every right 
temper and in which is no degree of any wrong 
one; suppose of ill-judged zeal, or more or less 
affection for some person than that person really 
deserves. * * '* # * There is so close a 
connexion between right judgment and right 
tempers, as well as right practice, that the latter 
cannot easily subsist without the former. Some 
wrong temper, at least in a small degree, almost 
necessarily follows from wrong judgment. I 
apprehend when many say — ' Sin must remain, 
while the body remains' — this is what they mean, 
though they cannot make it out." — Wesley s 
Works, vol. xii. p. 268. 

" Truth and falsehood, and so right and wrong 
tempers, are often divided by an almost imper- 
ceptible line. It is the more dimcult to distinguish 
right and wrong tempers or passions, because in 
several instances the same motion of the blood 
and animal spirits will attend both one and the 
other. Therefore in many cases we cannot dis- 
tinguish them, but by the unction of the Holy 
One. 

" In the case you mention, all self-complacency 
or self-approbation is not pride. Certainly there 
may be self-approbation, which is not sin, though 



300 APPENDIX. 

it must occasion a degree of pleasure. This is our 
rejoicing, even the testimony of our conscience toward 
God. * * * But in all these instances there 
is need of the utmost care, lest we slide from 
innocent joy or self- approbation into that which 
is not innocent, into pride, thinking of ourselves 
more highly than we ought to think, or vanity, 
a desire of praise. 

1 For thin partitions do their bounds divide.' " 

— Wesley s Works, vol. xii. p. 414. 

" If useless words or thoughts spring from evil 
tempers, they are properly evil ; otherwise, not ; 
but still they are contrary to the Adamic law ; 
yet not to the law of love : therefore there is no 
condemnation for them, but they are matter of 
humiliation before God." — Wesley s Works, vol. 
xii. p. 418. 

Consult also Mr. Wesley's plain account of 
" Christian Perfection ;" and let it be noted, that 
several of the statements which he originally 
made in that tract were considerably modified, 
and some of them absolutely rejected, in short 
notes appended by himself in the later editions. 
See his Works, vol. xi. pp. 364, 373. 

The above extracts will abundantly confirm 
my position, that truth and error sometimes lie in 
close contiguity ; and that without great care and 
caution, we may easily and insensibly slip from 
one into the other. 

Again, Mr. Wesley says — 



APPENDIX. 301 

" But does not preaching tins faith lead men 
into pride ? We answer, accidentally it may : 
therefore ought every believer to be earnestly 
cautioned in the words of the great apostle; 
Because of unbelief " &c. Bom. xi. 20, 21, 22. 

And a little farther on, in the same sermon — 

" May not the speaking thus of the mercy of 
God, as saving or justifying freely by faith only, 
encourage men in sin ? Indeed, it may and will : 
many will continue in sin, that grace may abound ; 
but their blood is upon their own head." — Ser- 
mon i. Works, vol. v. pp. 10, 11. 

Thus, in Mr. Wesley's judgment, the great 
doctrines of the gospel are just as liable to abuse, 
as the passages in the hymns to which I refer. We 
do not abandon the doctrine of justification by 
faith, because by many it is misapprehended and 
abused; but we think it incumbent on ministers 
to explain it fully, and to guard it with jealous 
care against antinomian abuse. Even so, I do 
not propose that the hymns should be abandoned, 
nor even that certain passages should be greatly 
amended or entirely expunged; but I think it very 
desirable that such passages should be qualified 
and guarded ; and that if certain hymns or verses 
be used at all, it should be done advisedly and 
sparingly. 

The reviewer objects to what I say about some 

hymns, as containing expressions whieh cannot be 

justified. Does he really think, that the strong 

language of Hymn 48 can be adopted with pro- 

2 D 



•302 APPENDIX. 

priety by any true Christian ? Can lie reconcile 
envy, envy of a dead body, with supreme love to 
God and universal love to man ? Is it not one of 
the marks of this love, that it envieth not ? Can 
he reconcile the eager desire to be instantly 
admitted into Paradise, with unqualified submis- 
sion to the divine will ? Is the person who uses 
the language in the last verse of that fine hymn, 
willing to continue as long as God pleases, in the 
patient discharge of all the duties which he owes 
to his family, to the church, to his country, and 
to the world at large ? 

It cannot be imagined, that Mr. Wesley ever 
intended that hymn for common and general use. 
It cannot be supposed, that he would ever have 
given out the first and the last verses for singing, 
or that he would have allowed them to be sung in 
his presence. 

In what the reviewer says of my observations 
on Hymns 158 and 504, he appears to have 
overlooked a considerable part of. what I have i 
written, and that in a way for which I know not 
how to account. On Hymn 158 I say, some of 
the expressions are so strong, that it is doubtful 
whether they can on any ground be justified : but 
if Aleph had read on a little farther, he would 
have seen that I was anxious to put the best con- 
struction on the words, and, if possible, to extract 
from them a sound and safe meaning. For I say 
— these passages of our poet may be found to fur- 
nish an antidote to the error, which at first view 



APPENDIX. 303 

they seem to countenance ; and I endeavour to find 
out a way of vindicating even that strong expres- 
sion — 

" Force me to be saved by grace." 

On Hymn 504 he quotes part of what I have 
written, and then, allowing that it is true enough, 
he enquires — " Does it decide absolutely, as our 
author supposes it to do, against the propriety of 
using this stanza?" If Aleph had only taken the 
trouble to read all rny remarks on that hymn, he 
would have seen that I do not decide absolutely, 
as he asserts, against the propriety of using that 
stanza. On the contrary, nearly one-half of the 
critique on that hymn is employed in showing 
that, with certain qualifications and according 
to a certain mode of interpretation, that stanza 
may be used, and the sentiment vindicated. 

It certainly appears strange that in these two 
cases, Aleph should read merely a part of what 
I have written, and then state objections, which, 
would have been obviated or neutralized by the 
other part. 

The reviewer is apprehensive that the Hymno- 
logy will, on the whole, be accessory to mischief, 
and that it will damage rather than help forward 
my main object ; which is to promote the more 
profitable use of the Hymn Book. His fears 
I believe to be destitute of any solid foundation. 
Several hundred copies of the work have been 
sold ; and I have not yet heard, directly or in- 
directly, of a single instance in which any injury 



304 



APPENDIX. 



has resulted from its perusal. But I have re- 
ceived numerous testimonies, both from ministers 
and others, and some of them very competent 
judges, as to the good done by means of the 
volume. While some are suspecting and fearing 
that it will diminish the sentiments of veneration 
with which the Hymn Book is regarded among 
the Methodists, I know, as a matter of fact, that 
the contrary effect has, in many instances, been 
produced. Many persons, having read the Hym- 
nology, now use the Hymn Book with greater 
interest and pleasure and profit than ever; they 
now see in many of the hymns beauties and excel- 
lences which they never saw before, and which 
they never would have discovered, if not thus 
pointed out. 

I wish the religious public, and particularly 
the Wesley an body, to judge of the work entitled 
" Wesleyan Hymnology" merely according to its 
real character and value. If I have made any 
statements that shall be found erroneous or of an 
injurious tendency, I advise all persons to reject 
them; and as soon as I am convinced that such 
is the true character of any of my statements, I 
shall feel more pleasure in rejecting, than I now 
do in retaining them. 



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